McCain Must Fall on His Sword Over Benghazi

Now that John McCain's merciless criticism of Susan Rice over Benghazi seems off-base—at least according to CBS—should he fall on his own sword? "Live by the moral sword, die by it," writes Michael Tomasky at the Daily Beast. In an angry article, he criticizes "an unctuous McCain" for "standing before the cameras and lambasting Democrats in highly moralistic language for politicizing such a sensitive tragedy." Ultimately Tomasky asks whether McCain will quit over "this embarrassing crusade."

Tomasky acknowledges that McCain deserves "more than three strikes" because of his long track record—but "foist[ing] Sarah Palin upon an unsuspecting nation" was one, and becoming more conservative to fend off primary challengers in 2010 was another. Tomasky may have timed his article well, because McCain softened his criticism of Rice today, the Guardian reports. And at the National Review, Mark Steyn seemed to dismiss the Benghazi hearings and referred to Rice as the "soon-to-be Secretary of State." Click for Tomasky's full piece. (More John McCain stories.)