One of the abiding story lines of this campaign was the difference in demeanor in the two candidates. President-elect Obama was measured, unflappable, took setbacks and turned them into assets, while Senator McCain often seemed irritated and could be quick to anger. For those who had followed Obama’s political career, it was no surprise that he maintained his composure, but McCain’s campaign anger seemed out of character.

Many of us fondly remember Strait Talk Express mach 1 from the 2000 election. Here was a candidate who liked the press, who would talk with reporters amiably and without reservations for hours at a time. He was known as a joker, a man who could laugh at himself, but something changed on this campaign, something more than new handlers and bad polls, that was nothing new to the Senator. In a recent telephone interview Receiving Me? set out to find the answer and we think you will be surprised, and perhaps a little more understanding.

Receiving Me?: Thank you for taking this interview Senator, we know you must be very busy.

Senator John McCain: Very busy, hilarious my friend. Ha… Ha

RM: Well you are still a senator.

JM: My friend, this is what we call a lame duck session. And my friend this duck is lamer than most. My friend we have a historically unpopular president and a salivating Johnny come lately waiting in the wings. I don’t expect, my friend, that I’ll even have to pretend to do anything till February, and then, my friend, only if the few surviving republicans can tolerate the stench of my defeat long enough to caucus with me.

RM: There’s always Lieberman.

JM: Yeah, Lieberman, great idea, my friend. (noisily drinking)

RM: So, ah, Senator, a lot of our readers want to know why you seemed so irritable during the campaign.

JM: My friend, this was a long campaign. I had enchiladas in New Mexico, deep-dish pizza in Illinois and pirogues in Pennsylvania. And let me tell you my friend, when you get to be my age the old G.I. doesn’t do the same job it used to.

RM: I’m not sure I follow you Senator…

JM: You ever been out a date, my friend, when you started feeling a little burbling in the nether regions. There she is laughing at your jokes thinking you’re charming, and the last thing you want to do is unleash bilious cloud of your own septic gas.

RM: Yes senator.

JM: My friend, a campaign is a lot like that date, only it with the whole country and it goes on for close to two years. What I’m trying to say friend, is that I started holding a fart in August of 2007. I’ll admit, constant gas pain got the better of me, and I snapped a few times when I shouldn’t have. I finally let it out right before my concession speech. I wanted to make sure Palin got a good whiff. Maybe I should have relented, maybe America wanted a president who was comfortable enough to be himself, but that’s water under the bridge my friend.