The McCain View: They Asked For Us

A McCain aide pushes back against the notion that this was a pure riverboat gamble by McCain.

Yesterday, the aide contends, Democrats basically said that unless McCain owned the package they were going to put together, then it would fail.

The package can't fail; hence McCain needs to be in Washington.

That's a fair point.

Sen. Harry Reid is out with a statement saying that he actually doesn't want the presidential candidates to return to Washington a day after Democrats basically begged for one of them to help.

So Democrats, taking advantage of the pressure McCain was under, would have forced to him to own the bill... and now, McCain is doing it on his own terms.

The trick -- the gamble -- is whether McCain, in suspending his campaign and advertising, took it a step too far, and tried to build a large bridge to cover a narrow chasm.

Now Democrats are in the position of saying... we don't want your help.

So -- either McCain wiggled his way out of the box the Democrats put him in.

Or the lid just shut.

We'll know soon enough.