We need another inarticulate boob in the White House like we need a second navel

It's really sad to watch what's happened to John McCain. I remember that in the very early days of the 2000 campaign, I would say that I wished for a John McCain/Bill Bradley matchup, because while I might not like McCain, at least it would be a matchup where I could feel my intelligence wasn't being insulted.

There was a time when McCain, while still being a staunch conservative, was at least a thoughtful one. Then he sold his soul to George W. Bush and now he's trapped in a hell of his own making. I wonder if he even believes the stuff that comes out of his mouth or if he, like Mitt Romney, will say or do anything to get this nomination.

Now, after claiming that anyone can walk freely through the streets of Baghdad, and after a ridiculous photo op in which he required 100 soldiers, three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships to keep him safe; after 21 people were ambushed and shot dead in the photo-op's aftermath, McCain admits he misspoke:

The remarks made headlines and he now regrets saying them. "Of course I am going to misspeak and I've done it on numerous occasions and I probably will do it in the future," says McCain. "I regret that when I divert attention to something I said from my message, but you know, that's just life," he tells Pelley, adding, "I'm happy, frankly, with the way I operate, otherwise it would be a lot less fun."

Fun? FUN? Has McCain forgotten that this election, perhaps more than any other in my lifetime, is deadly serious. 21 Iraqis died in the immediate aftermath of his little photo-op, and more since. If the George W. Bush presidency should have taught us nothing else, it's shown us that words have consequences -- words like "Bring 'em on". Does he think this is some sort of game? Does he, like Bush, think the president is a dictator or king? It would seem so:

I disagree with what the majority of the American people want.

I don't know if McCain's mental capacities have diminished, or if his lust for the presidency has overtaken him to the extent that he can no longer thing straight. But if there is anything more repulsive than a Republican candidate trying to justify this war by using taxpayer-paid military resources to try to score a cheap poltical point, it's that candidate shrugging it off later on, saying "I misspoke and I'll do it again."

Perhaps at one time John McCain might have made a good president. But that time is now long past.