Jacob Weisberg believes McCain is (correctly) playing a sly game of political maneuvering out of necessity to obtain his goal: the GOP's choice to be the next president.

Well, perhaps Weisberg is indeed correct -- or not. Frankly, I've grown weary of trying to figure it out (read several of my prior posts on this subject). That said, assuming Weisberg's take on this, what's truly sad is the lengths to which a fairly reasonable and non-BushCo-crazed candidate must go to succeed in the current version of the GOP. The party is riddled with strident, extremist factions serving as enormous hurdles for a more moderate and less inflammatory office seeker.

McCain may have realized he's going to have to pander to the kooks if he has any shot of securing the nomination, only to then "come to his senses" and ignore them. It's both pathetic and yet hopeful.