You almost begin to suspect that the McCain camp is composed of hardcore masochists, the sort who take a certain perverse delight in their own pain and humiliation. Palin’s interview was bad enough along these lines, you’d think, given that it resulted in bipartisan calls for the Alaska Governor to exit the GOP ticket. (”Cringe-worthy,” of course, being the adjective of choice for editorial writers.) But no. Johnny Mac and his handlers wanted more. That’s right.

So in order to clean up a small gaffe Palin made campaigning at a cheese-steak stand, McCain accompanies his self-declared soul-mate back to Couric’s studio, and sits like a grumpy grampa as she repeats her safety-security mantra.

Now, we know there are folks out there who think that Palin is qualified to be Vice President, so let’s put that burning question to one side, and ask another directly related to it: Can anyone imagine Obama doing this odd visit-to-the-Principal routine with Biden? Holding his hand during a Katie Couric interview like this, while he’s asked if he’s sorry for what he said?

Or Reagan with Bush the Elder? Or Clinton with Gore?

Anyone who thinks that McCain and his handlers are pioneers for the rights of Woman might want to think again. They’re treating her like a seventeen-year-old Princess who happens, through a run of bad luck, to have inherited one of two keys to the Throne.

The interview footage is here, and it’s painful stuff, truly. Palin recants her agreement with Obama on Pakistan policy, and there’s a rote quality to the lines that seems to indicate she spent the previous night under house arrest, drilling the answers.

Don’t forget to watch McCain’s reactions: the twitchy jaw, the eye pops, the strained body language. This guy is in purgatory, my friends.