Rocky lost

Enraged by reports of finger-pointing and defeatism among senior aides -- including a long NYT Magazine piece that's well worth reading -- McCain yesterday took the stage to the theme from "Rocky," declaring he would fight to the end.

Failing to take into account that Rocky was set up to lose and did, in fact, lose. For some reason Americans find this story reassuring; cf. "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," the Chicago Cubs, etc. Well-known Republicans continued their predictions of doom.

But even before this development, someone has identified a new neurosis, maverick personality disorder, to describe the McCain-Palin identity.

technorati: McCain, Republicans, maverick