They say politics makes strange bedfellows, and, at the risk of drawing a truly gruesome mental picture, I'm not sure any two bedfellows are as strange as John McCain and Sarah Palin. Since day one of their startling marriage of political expedience, they've never quite gelled as running mates -- not surprising given that they have almost nothing in common other than an apparently breathtaking measure of craven ambition.
From the start, their pairing never should've worked -- both as a cohesive ticket and a means to an end -- and now that it in fact isn't working in the latter sense, the cracks are seriously beginning to show in unmistakable ways in the former.
All anyone looking for proof of this fact has to do is watch -- and by "watch" I mean "endure" -- the study-in-uncomfortable that is McCain and Palin's interview with NBC's Brian Williams.
The network's political director, Chuck Todd, has already commented that there's an undeniable "tenseness" between the two candidates throughout the interview, but honestly, that's akin to saying that the Titanic suffered some "minor structural damage" when it hit the iceberg.
The reality is that the interaction between McCain and Palin is so forced, so phony, so occasionally unnerving, that about halfway through the thing, I actually had to remind myself that I wasn't watching a Christopher Guest movie.
If you haven't seen any of it for yourself, clear a few minutes from your schedule and click the video below. Make sure to pay special attention to Palin flubbing the number of past secretaries of state endorsing John McCain. If you have trouble locating it, let me help you out: It begins at about 8:00 and it's the part where McCain seriously looks like he wants to reach over and smack Palin in the mouth.
After witnessing such an uneasy exchange, there should be almost no question that McCain regrets choosing Palin as a running mate and at least partially blames her for his spiraling political fortunes.
For God's sake, the man looks like he's being held hostage -- again.
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