Pundits Pile on Stumbling Mac

A rare level of pundit fury is flying at John McCain, as some erstwhile defenders lose patience with the Republican. Daniel Henninger asks point blank in the Wall Street Journal, “Is John McCain stupid? Is John McCain losing it?” The venerable rightie documents lazy and repeated stumbles on social security, Al Gore, and Nancy Pelosi—questioning McCain’s “mental focus” and “intellectual discipline.” And it’s not mere flip-flopping: it’s a "sex-change operation" and a simple refusal to “put in the work” to win.

Joe Klein may be even angrier in Time, taking back an earlier evaluation of McCain as “an honorable man” running “an honorable campaign.” McCain’s voice is far from “humble and moderate,” as Klein once thought: rather he is revealing an erratic temperament and an utter lack of courage. Indeed, “he is showing flop sweat.” (More John McCain stories.)