When to hold 'em, when to fold 'em

Last week, I was worried that a gambler like McCain would continue doubling down, using increasingly high-risk bets to keep himself in contention for the Presidency. However, with yesterday's change in tone in the campaign, the gambler is folding his hand.

If McCain continues playing the long odds and antagonizes the future President, he would be condemned to an irrelevant future as a United States Senator of the minority party. However, if he can Dole it up, he will still go down as a class act losing to an inevitable force, with the chance to be part of a bipartisan governing coalition.