Several weeks ago, while on the road, McCain said, “It seems to me that it’s a good thing to do, but I haven’t examined the bill with the care … that it needs. … But we obviously need to do something along those lines.”

That’s a lot different than “He doesn’t support the bill.” It’s more like he thinks its a good idea, but he’s too prudent to just say he supports a bill a reporter asks him about without looking at it first.

Because if he doesn’t, then Dems will be in a unique position and able to label him as not supporting the troops… which is really all the Democrats need to do to win. They just have to look more patriotic and supportive of armed-service members.

The two guys I respect most in the Senate are Hagel and Webb. Like McCain, they are both Vietnam vets and war heroes. Unlike McCain, they were foot soldiers and did their fighting up close and personal. I have nothing but the highest regard for McCain’s sacrifice and integrity displayed while a POW. But I don’t think he has the same empathy for the grunts on the ground, like Hagel and Webb.