Politics | John McCain McCain Must Fall on His Sword Over Benghazi His attacks on Susan Rice went too far: Michael Tomasky By Neal Colgrass Posted Nov 25, 2012 5:32 PM CST Copied Sen. John McCain clowns around on the podium during sound check the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Now that John McCain's merciless criticism of Susan Rice over Benghazi seems off-base—at least according to CBS—should he fall on his own sword? "Live by the moral sword, die by it," writes Michael Tomasky at the Daily Beast. In an angry article, he criticizes "an unctuous McCain" for "standing before the cameras and lambasting Democrats in highly moralistic language for politicizing such a sensitive tragedy." Ultimately Tomasky asks whether McCain will quit over "this embarrassing crusade." Tomasky acknowledges that McCain deserves "more than three strikes" because of his long track record—but "foist[ing] Sarah Palin upon an unsuspecting nation" was one, and becoming more conservative to fend off primary challengers in 2010 was another. Tomasky may have timed his article well, because McCain softened his criticism of Rice today, the Guardian reports. And at the National Review, Mark Steyn seemed to dismiss the Benghazi hearings and referred to Rice as the "soon-to-be Secretary of State." Click for Tomasky's full piece. Read These Next We knew Letterman would pipe up about Colbert eventually. The sheriff says he's never seen a worse case of child sex abuse. Journal pulls a controversial paper on arsenic after 15 years. Google exposes man's butt, is ordered to pay him $12.5K. Report an error