Oddly enough, Scarborough refuses to acknowledge that the GOP center of gravity has moved to the right, which seems beyond dispute. Perhaps he views the Tea Party movement as an echo of his renegade brand of politics in the Gingrich House. But his gang eventually compromised with Clinton on a balanced budget and welfare reform, and Scarborough says he’s since had “several great talks” with the former president, who invariably thanks him for being fair to Hillary in 2008.

Despite dropping hints about a future campaign, possibly a presidential one, “I’m not crazy about the idea right now,” Scarborough says. “I’m going to give my party one more chance and see if they’re really serious about balancing the budget. I’m influencing the debate more now than by being the 100th-ranking senator.”