McCainiac

Mickey Kaus may be the reason you are here. If so, let me explain why it is that I think McCain will run for president as an independent. (By scrolling down a bit, you can read the original McCain item, which also riffed off a Kausfiles item. Blogging is circular).

Five Reasons Why McCain Will Run as an Indpendent:

1. Because he can't win the Republican nomination.
2. Because he can't win the Democratic nomination.
3. Because there is no drug in the world like running for president. It is more addictive that nicotine and stronger than heroin. And McCain (and his people) have that craving, that need.
4. Because McCain thinks he's better than Bush and Gore. (Presidential politics at the Bush/Gore/McCain level is largely about assessing the others and finding yourself -- by comparison and in your own mind -- better qualified, more distinguished, smarter, tougher, etcetera).
5. Because McCain knows what really killed George H.W. Bush in 1992: Ross Perot. And because McCain also knows that the 1992 exit polling found that Perot would have won the election had he not been perceived as "crazy."