What a Pool Believes

Slate's Bruce Reed notices that Maverick John McCain's NCAA picks—laid out for the world to see on his Riefenstahlian interweb hub—are incredibly conservative.

It would be hard to come up with more conservative picks. McCain has all four number-one seeds going to the Final Four. That's never happened in NCAA history, and it's a classic frontrunner strategy sure to lose the office pool. His longest shot in the Elite Eight is a third seed, Washington State; the rest are first or second seeds. The Arizona senator doesn't even choose his home state Wildcats to knock off top-seeded Florida. Straight talk, or a savvy play for Florida's Super Tuesday primary? You make the call.

Worth pointing out that "taking so few risks that he hurts his chances of winning" is a pretty good summation of McCain's Last Stand (a.k.a. the 2008 campaign).

Take advantage of an old man's folly and sign up for the pool. Quick: Before McCain changes his mind and decides to ban them again!

"Who cares?" you shout. "I want to read or re-read Matt Welch's blockbuster McCain cover story!" Well, here you go.