Leadership, Definition of

You guys all know by now that Abu Muqawama is a) devoutly non-partisan and b) hates talking about the 2008 U.S. presidential election at the expense of Iraq and Afghanistan, but one can still talk about war, be devoutly non-partisan, and take great joy from the singular John McCain:

McCain enjoys fencing with the press. At a news conference in Ypsilanti last week on the day of the Michigan primary, he ducked -- and sometimes mocked -- the flurry of horse-race questions.

"What does your gut tell you?" one journalist asked.

"My gut has told me many things that turned out to be wrong, and so has my brain," McCain said.

"Do you think the nomination will be decided on Super Tuesday?"

"I have no clue."

Fox's Carl Cameron, noting the presence of Sen. Joe Lieberman, who is campaigning with McCain, wondered: "Are we looking at your running mate?"

"I think it'd be presumptuous of me, having won one primary, to be thinking about running mates," McCain said. "I'll admit to a massive ego, but not quite that massive."

There was a serious moment when BBC correspondent Justin Webb asked why McCain kept bringing up global warming -- not a popular cause with many Republicans, particularly in Michigan, where resistance to fuel-efficiency standards is strong.

"You've got to do what you know is right," McCain replied.

"You could lose as a result," Webb said.

"There's a lot worse things than losing in life," the former POW said.