John McCain is all over the map these days -- literally and rhetorically. He's just wrapping up his second national tour, named the "It's Time for Action Tour," today in Little Rock, Arkansas. The tour has taken him to Alabama, Ohio, Kentucky and Louisiana. Before that, there was the "Service to America Tour," which found him in Mississippi, Virginia, Maryland, Florida and Arizona. At this rate, McCain could easily hit all 50 states before the Democrats even have a nominee.

But it's on the rhetorical side that McCain seems to be charting a stranger path. When the country was unwillingly introduced to Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his Chicago church back in March, McCain, with the lowest of low-hanging fruit dangling before him, declined to criticize his would-be opponent. As if to show that his generosity cut both ways, he was equally hushed on Hillary Clinton's Bosnian sniper tale.

Contrast those examples, however, with what McCain had to say about Barack Obama's infamous "bitter" comments regarding Pennsylvania voters. He released a statement shortly afterward condemning the remarks and just yesterday he repeated that they were "elitist." (McCain has also come out harshly against Obama's association to William Ayers.)

McCain is not finicky about criticizing his opponents over matters of policy like the Iraq war or the economy. But on gaffes -- those inopportune, unscripted moments that can be extremely embarrassing and even damaging to political candidates -- McCain has shown a curious discipline. What, for instance, makes Obama's ideas about Pennsylvanians "clinging" to guns and God worthier of comment than Wright's grotesque anti-Americanism?

The method in his madness seems to be that McCain is adopting rules for the coming election, a standard of conduct that he hopes voters will appreciate as honorable. Obama's "bitter" comments insult average Americans, while Wright, as insulting as he is, is not running for president. Clinton got caught telling a fib, but it was a harmless fib that insulted only voters' intelligence.

Of course by showing voters exactly how he plans to conduct himself, McCain is anticipating that his eventual rival won't be so honorable. There's your setup. But there is also a trap. As with the brouhaha over a North Carolina Republican Party ad that highlighted Obama's connection with Wright, McCain's opponents will insist on tying him to these outside efforts no matter what he says. Which is just one reason why honor is so rarely rewarded in politics.