THE PLAYER AND THE PLAYED:

Ted Cruz called out Mitch McConnell seven times by name on Monday night. Afterward, the Senate majority leader barely uttered a word about his chief Republican adversary.

Asked about Cruz's diatribe on the Senate floor, during which the Texas Republican suggested McConnell is a puppet for Democratic leaders and a foe of conservatives, McConnell couldn't conceal his smile on Tuesday.

"I have tried very hard to stay out of the presidential race, and I think that's probably a good rule for me," he said with a chuckle. [...]

By moving to quarantine Cruz from the rest of the conference over the past three months, the majority leader demonstrated that he's learned the lessons of the Cruz-backed government shutdown in 2013 and the Texas senator's rogue strategy last winter that helped Democrats confirm a raft of judges in the lame duck session. In doing so, McConnell cemented his position atop the Senate GOP, dashing any hopes among House Republicans, or conservative activists, that his future might be in doubt.

The message is clear: McConnell isn't going anywhere, and everyone in the Senate knows it. Even Cruz won't say he should resign.

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