Sort of.

The first of no doubt many long knives that will be plunged into the backs of conservatives and Republicans that set aside their objections to work hard to support McCain’s botched and bungled candidacy.

Q: With more Democrats in the Senate and the House and a Democrat in the White House, how do you see congressional efforts playing out on such issues as health care and immigration?

A: On immigration, there’s been an agreement between (President-elect Barack) Obama and (Arizona Republican Sen. John) McCain to move forward on that. … We’ll do that. We have to get this economy stuff figured out first, so I think we’ll have a shot at doing something on health care in the next Congress for sure.

Q: Will there be as much of a fight on immigration as last time?

A: We’ve got McCain and we’ve got a few others. I don’t expect much of a fight at all. Now health care is going to be difficult. That’s a very complicated issue. We debated at great length immigration. People understand the issues very well. We have not debated health care, so that’s going to take a lot more time to do.

It’s not losing that’s so bad, you see. It’s the loser you supported turning into a Quisling to advance the very things he was opposing when you were supporting him (which, granted, he was trying to advance earlier on until his campaign collapsed and he thought better of it).

I am reminded of the fable of the scorpion and the frog.

The scorpion sought to cross the river. So he asked the frog to carry him across.

The frog said, “No, because you’ll sting me and I’ll drown.”

“No, I won’t,” said the scorpion, “because then we’d both drown.”

So the frog thought of it for a time and, since the reasoning of the scorpion made sense, at last agreed.

The scorpion climbed on the back of the frog, and the frog started to swim across the river.

Halfway across, the scorpion stung the frog.

As the frog started to drown from the poisonous sting, he looked at the scorpion and said, “Why’d you do that? Now we’ll both drown!”

“I can’t help it,” the scorpion replied. “It’s my nature.”

John McCain can’t help it either, it seems; it’s his nature.