No matter who is trying to spin it one thing is undeniable John McCain has long been his own man.  All you really need to do is look at how the base of his party has treated him and you will realize McCain is not the darling of his party.  McCain has differed from his party on things such as immigration reform, the Bush tax cuts, the gang of 14 and campaign election reform. 

The “independent maverick” has done it again.  Based on back and forth email conversations from two of McCain’s closest friends it is clear McCain made this decision on his own.  The McCain inner circle, which is small, was looking for McCain to go a different direction.  Part of McCain’s circle, the more conservative part, was looking for McCain to go with Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.  The other part of McCain’s circle really wanted McCain to shake it up and go with Democrat turned Independent Joe Lieberman.  Lieberman was closer to being the pick than many conservatives would want to believe. But McCain had plans of his own.

McCain not only went against what many in the Republican establishment thought was the wise pick, he also went against what his own inner circle thought was the wise pick. 

Should we ever be surprised at what our senior senator does?