Ross Douthat and Marc Ambinder are skeptical. Why? He’s not going to waste away in semi-obscurity as a figurehead for some security firm; this is a man, after all, willing to spoof the idiocy of his own campaign strategy for a brief guest shot on Saturday Night Live. Unless McCain wins and puts him in the cabinet, he’ll have no access to the public stage and nothing to do with his time but plot a route. Realistically that means challenging either Hillary or Schumer for Senate, a losing proposition in a true-blue state against such high-profile incumbents, or a no-name governor who backed into the job thanks to a scandalous Democratic flameout. It’s either this or, er, mayor of L.A. Why not?

Follow the link to Ambinder and note Patrick Ruffini’s 2010 dream scenario. Why would she give up the Senate for that?