Thu Sep 25, 2:26 PM Pacific • posted by Jed Lewison

Kristol's Uncertainty Gambit For McCain

I've been working on a video so I'm not totally up to speed on the state of play on the deal, but I did want to flag this Bill Kristol post (h/t: Jonathan Martin).

Basically, Kristol is claiming that McCain will support the deal now, but if/when he becomes president, he'll revisit the deal and change it. Now if Kristol is serious, no matter what you think about the deal, that seems like a horrible idea. The point of the deal is in part to create certainty. So why in the world would Kristol want to introduce uncertainty?

Basically, Kristol's smart enough to know that given the current state of play, Barack Obama is certain to win this election. Because of that, uncertainty benefits McCain, no matter its impact on the economy or country. Fortunately for him, I can't think of anyone better suited to act a bit crazy and introduce uncertainty into a situation that demands stability than John McCain.