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The Louisiana Senate race is very important.

I postulated last week that a McCain/Chaffee switch is not out of the question. Some responders said that was not possible because "McCain is not stupid."

I agree McCain is not stupid, but he is crazy. He's got screws loose in the attic. He is petty and vindictive. He does not like Bush and he HATES McConnell, who will be the Republican whip in the Senate. 2004 is the absolute LAST chance for McCain to run for President. Any hope he had of challenging Bush in the primaries is out the window.

McCain's beloved Campaign Finance Reform will probably be flushed down the judicial toilet soon. He will blame the Republicans, and that may be his stated excuse to switch to Independent or Dem. While the Republicans swept the nation, McCain's home state elected a Dem governor.

Bottom line: McCain is for McCain. Since the Pub's have refused to give him what he wants, he may decide to kick 'em in the crotch one last time. At the very least, he gets the cover of Time, unlimited Meet the Press appearances, and absolute adulation at the NY Times.

Bottom Bottom Line: If Landrieu loses, then McCain can just go sit quietly in the corner. He is irrelevant. GO TERRELL!

The reason that a McCain & Chaffee joint defection is not going to happen is that in 2004, there will almost certainly be more Republican pickups in the Senate. The Republicans have only 12 seats up, and of those Alaska, Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, and South Carolina all are all looking like unlikely places for Democrats to win. And there are other states where the state has been going Republican lately where the Republicans are running an incumbent, such as Kentucky and Missouri, and other states where they may be running an entrenched incumbent, such as Pennsylvania.

Almost all of the contests will be in seats held by Democrats. Jumping ship would be a one way ticket to Jeffordsville.