for myself, i've given up on conspiracy theories simply because there's really no way to prove them.
i will say however that i have no doubt the administration is putting the full weight of their clout behind trying to get McCain elected (and rightly so if they want to stay in control). whether it was their input that got him to postpone his campaign and come to DC remains to be seen (or as i believe, unseen), but i fully expect him to say his arriving in DC 1/hr before the compromise the houses hammered out was due to his presence. hopefully Obama arrived later and can't claim the same
this whole presidential electoral process has been reprehensible by campaign staffs on both sides, and i don't see them cleaning it up anytime soon ....