McCain: ISIS Is 'Winning and We're Not'

"They're winning, and we're not," says John McCain in his assessment of the American effort against the Islamic State. "The Iraqis are not winning. The Peshmerga, the Kurds are not winning." The Arizona Republican wants American boots on the ground to better coordinate airstrikes, Politico reports, as well as a no-fly zone in Iraq and Syria—and he wants to strike the latter. "You have to go after ISIS and Bashar al-Assad. There’s no boundary between Syria and Iraq. Why should we differentiate?" National Security Adviser Susan Rice also weighed in on the issue, noting that "We are in the early stages of what is going to be, as President Obama has said, a long-term effort," adding that "this is going to take time." Elsewhere on your Sunday dial:

• Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey: ISIS militants were "within, you know, 20 or 25 kilometers" of the Baghdad airport. "Had they overrun the Iraqi unit, it was a straight shot to the airport. So, we're not going to allow that to happen. We need that airport."
• Bob Woodward: The anti-ISIS campaign is "a mess," President Obama is "clearly going through a wake-up call" and has "got to come up with something that's going to work," and his aim of destroying ISIS is a "mighty ambitious goal."
• Leon Panetta on Washington: "Having been in this town close to 50 years ... Right now, I think it's Washington at its worst because of the gridlock and stalemate that's involved in this town."
• Panetta on President Obama: "Presidents need to also have a heart of a warrior. That's the way you get things done ... to engage in a fight."

(More Sunday morning talk shows stories.)