A few months ago John McCain floated the intriguing idea of subjecting himself as president to unscripted "question time"-style grillings before the Congress. The notion tickled the fancy of even many a liberal McCain critic.
Now that McCain's staff has cut off nearly all his spontaneous interactons with the media, it might be time to reconsider the seriousness of this pledge. I know campaigns demand extreme message discipline--but it's not like a president is immune from gaffes either. If McCain beats Obama with his current tight-lipped approach, it's a hard to imagine him switching right back to his old freewheeling ways.
--Michael Crowley