Come on, Lucky 7

I'm not an expert on gambling. My experiences with betting - mostly football, some baseball - have been really, really bad. I have had mixed luck with low-stakes poker, mostly playing for the camaraderie, sport, and entertainment. I have also spent more than I could afford at casinos, mostly blackjack tables.

Most of my bad experiences (read: losing enough to feel terrible about it) were the result of what some poker players call "Tilting". I'm not positive, but I think this is an old pinball game reference, where a player gets emotional and then too rough with the pinball machine. When on "Tilt", a gambler is emotionally involved with the game and is not engaging the intellectual component of the mind. The cash flies out much more quickly as the player is desperate to win back the lost dough.

Why do I mention any of this? It seems to me that we overlook McCain's gambling addiction at our peril. My sense is that we'll see more gambles, some doubling-down on Palin, or perhaps just gutter politics. I'm not really sure, and maybe I'm all wet. But I've been in gambling situations before, I've seen people step out of character, even for a moment, when they think they see their pot of goal right in front of them. Almost always it's a mirage.

Keep an eye on the McCain camp. Craps players always think they're about to get hot...they usually think this way right up until they run out of money.