John McCain sounds a lot like a certain political cartoonist I know, named “Me!”

If you’re evaluating the politican-as-narrative-vessel, a tendency to personalize conflict is a tremendous virtue. The problem comes now that McCain is being asked to seriously understand world events and crises, and the public is looking for more than a good quote or an angry denunciation. They’re looking for a compelling explanation. And McCain doesn’t have any of those.

I think McCain actually does have a compelling explanation: Everybody (who’s not in the military fighting for freedom) got greedy and stole too many mortgages and so now we have to kill Russia.