Sure, the photo op was a tad uncomfortable: The men looked like wary heads-of-state waiting for their translators.

As the cameras captured every uncomfortable moment, the two men tried some football chit-chat, but it looked forced -- because it was.

Behind closed doors, the discussion was more real.

A close aide to McCain told me that the senator really didn't know what to expect when he went into the session, but he knew he was ready to tell Obama where he could help him. He related that, after a couple of days of unwinding at his Sedona, Arizona, retreat, the senator was "back to plotting" what he can do in the Senate with his best-pal, Sen. Lindsay Graham, a Republican from South Carolina.

"He'll be OK," the adviser says. "That's just who he is." Watch more on the meeting »

It's no coincidence, by the way, that Obama sat down with McCain so quickly after the election. He knows he will need him.

The same goes for Sen. Joe Lieberman, the renegade independent (once a Democrat) who endorsed McCain -- and said some nasty things about