Now that I’ve read the whole thing, I still think McChrystal showed a terrible lapse in judgment by letting Rolling Stone into the tent and by saying anything that could be construed as disrespect for the commander-in-chief. I can’t agree with Cliff that this is all much ado about nothing. That said, I also think a lot of the quotes aren’t as bad as they first sounded. The mocking of Biden isn’t actually mocking of Biden so much as a game of trying to come up with crazy hypothetical responses that might get McChrystal in hot water. Even the stuff about Obama being unprepared and whatnot is offered from McChrystal aides, not McChrystal himself. As for the bad-mouthing of the civilian and diplomatic crowd, it’s unseemly, but I don’t know if it rises to the level of scandalous. Still, Obama has every right to be angry, even if he shares some of the blame.

I should also say that I came away liking McChrystal a lot more. He really is an impressive guy. Clearly arrogant and all that, but you need a healthy ego to do what he does.