Is McCain pulling back from brink? And will Palin?

Politico’s Ben Smith, Talking Points Memo’s Josh Marshall, and Time’s Ana Marie Cox all document how John McCain appears to be pulling back from the brink of race-baiting, incitement to campaign riot, or something similar Friday.

First, given that McCain said earlier this week that he wasn’t touching Ayers, will this hold up? Even though Josh said that McCain looked like he had the body language of someone forced to apologize, let’s wait to see how this plays out…

Let’s wait, say, until the Wednesday night final presidential debate. After all, earlier this week, Obama insinuated that McCain didn’t have the guts to say these things to his face.

I assume that will hold true Wednesday. But, beyond that, will McCain, however grudgingly and only as an aside, offer at least a tiny mea culpa?

Another caveat emptor is the McCain campaign going after Michelle Obama in a new attack.

And, what about Sarah Palin? From the Florida “Kill Him” campaign event earlier this week to this joint appearance with McCain Thursday, it’s clear that she’s the rabble-rouser engine.

Add to that the fact that she pushed to still campaign in Michigan after McCain wrote it off, and I’m not sure Schmuck Talk Express™ can reel in Mayor Whazzup™ even if he tries.

And, while Josh notes that several GOP muckety-mucks have said in public they don’t like where McCain has headed, and probably have said worse in private, I doubt Palin would listen to any of them either.

(More of some Republicans’ take on McCain’s crowd incitement here.)