The senator’s success with the press has been due, on balance, more to form than to substance. His straight-shooting reputation has been built largely on his accessibility, his relatively blunt manner and his obvious personal conviction.

What has changed, however, is that push really is coming to shove if he wants that Republican nomination (and he does seem to). That is almost certainly what is behind his increasing appeals to the dedicated Republicans who tend to vote in their party’s primaries, even to the point of associating himself with kingmakers like Falwell. It is in defense of these moves that we see him twisting and turning himself into a pretzel.

The question of whether McCain will flourish or perish for letting his conservative strain trump the more independent elements of his political makeup is now the most intriguing story in the embryonic stages of the 2008 elections (next to, of course, who might be able to beat Hillary).

McCain’s relationship with the press is changing not only because McCain himself is changing the emphasis of his politics, but because of the necessity of covering it as a story. And this is all for the good. Too often, easy political storylines come to define candidates early on, and shape press coverage of them throughout the campaign season (or, in some cases, throughout their careers).

The sooner the media take a hard look at the storylines they have created around the presidential hopefuls, the better the press coverage is likely to be in 2008.

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