The New York Times reports today about conditions on the ground that could send Sen. John McCain lapsing into post-traumatic flashbacks:

With its early date, Southern location and reputation for road testing conservative credentials, the South Carolina primary is a proving ground for any Republican who longs to be president.

But as Mr. McCain seeks the Republican nomination again, the state is also a painful symbol of the brutality of American politics, the place that derailed his 2000 bid and, ultimately, helped reshape him into the candidate he is today.

While he may be all God and family at today's Washington Briefing festivities, McCain is haunted by the notion that many of these social conservatives are the same people who smeared him as an unpatriotic, gay father of illegitimate children as he fought Bush for the GOP nomination.

He would do well to remember the lessons from last time the Straight Talk Express descended upon that perilous territory, bogging down the campaign and spitting out his volunteer troops like so much 'baccy. Without an exit strategy or a plan to secure the region, McCain was reduced to a whimpering, shell-shocked mess.

This time he'll come prepared, and I'd recommend he borrow from another Southern Strategy that once proved so brutally effective: scorched earth. General Sherman, meet General McCain.