The Hot File

Reporters yesterday asked McCain about the increase in cigarettes exports to Iran from the US. Here’s how he responded, laughing:

“Maybe that’s a way of killing them…I meant that as a joke, as a person who hasn’t had a cigarette in 28 years.”

Which brings me to another brand in crisis question: how does McCain maintain his maverick image without jeapordizing the projection of presidential aura?  Will the quality once seen as an enormous asset to McCain running for Senate turn ultimately into a liability running for President?  My guess is now that the media has slipped out of his back pocket, hopping off Straight Talk Express to expose flip flops and trip ups, his remarks will become discusssion fodder, heavily scrutinized and all around booed.