McCain "shifts"

Who could have predicted...

Three years ago, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was pretty clear about his stand on the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

A former war hero, McCain said he would support ending the ban once the military's top brass told him that they agreed with the change.

"The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, 'Senator, we ought to change the policy,' then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it," McCain said in October 2006 to an audience of Iowa State University students.

That day arrived Tuesday, with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen testifying to senators after President Obama's announcement that he would seek a congressional repeal of the 15-year-old policy.

Mullen called repealing the policy, which bans openly gay men and lesbians from serving, "the right thing to do" and said he was personally troubled by effectively forcing service members to "lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens."

Gates told the Armed Services Committee, "I fully support the president's decision."

In response, McCain declared himself "disappointed" in the testimony. "At this moment of immense hardship for our armed services, we should not be seeking to overturn the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy," he said bluntly, before describing it as "imperfect but effective."

Mavericky move, for sure.

Now, some will call Sen. McCain a pathetic, disgusting old man who has nothing left but to prowl his front lawn snarling at anyone who comes near it.

And they'd be right. Apparently he doesn't consider it "an immense hardship" to be forced to hide who you are in order to serve this country and possibly make the ultimate sacrifice for it.

That's just par for the course for this shallow, self-absorbed, media darling (still!). What I (and Ezra) find interesting is his disdain for the notion of civilian leadership of the military.

McCain spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said her boss has not shifted his position.

She noted that Mullen said repeatedly that he was speaking for himself and not for the military, and she dismissed Gates's testimony because he was expressing the Obama administration's line.