Wrong.

John McCain did indeed get something done: He undermined the Senate majority leader and every other Senate Republican who was prepared to vote to end judicial filibusters, emboldened Democrats who wish to obstruct the president's agenda and nominees (John Bolton), further alienated himself from the Republican rank and file, who consider judicial nominations a core issue, and weakened Republicans in the Senate in general by making a very bad "deal" with the Democrats.

To argue that McCain "made sure the Senate kept functioning and got several of Bush's nominees confirmed" is ludicrous. The Democrats were not going to bring the Senate to a halt. They knew that the American people would not stand for such an action, and therefore wouldn't dare try it. John McCain, in helping to bring about this "deal," has likely helped to get at least two of the president's nominees thrown overboard, with no guarantee that some of the others will not be filibustered. The Democrats most likely will find any excuse to declare that some of the nominees meet the definition of "extraordinary circumstances."

It also misses the point to argue that because "the most conservative candidate wins the Republican nomination" isn't always necessarily true, that John McCain has a realistic shot at obtaining it. He has no such chance. He has alienated the base by betraying it on an issue that it holds dear to its heart. In the absence of a "deal" with Democrats, John McCain had already declared to Chris Matthews over a month ago that he would vote against the constitutional option to stop judicial filibusters by Democrats. That was it. He lost the nomination at that point. He might have redeemed himself with a change of heart, but he sealed the nails of his presidential-aspirations coffin with the "deal" last Monday.

Therefore, to argue that John McCain is "sitting pretty" at this point, is so far from the truth of the current situation as to be in an almost different universe.