They’ve finally gone back to the surge charge from the weekend. There’s been lots of crosstalk, but no clear-cut ah-ha moment, or a YouTube moment.

Isn’t McCain’s argument – that Romney’s words “until we leave” suggests he supported a withdrawal — mean that any responsible leader could never use those words? Is the idea that our troops never leave?

McCain’s argument is that just by using the word “timetables”, it’s inherently a promise to withdraw. I think you can say you want to see timetables for progress and correlating reductions in troops – essentially, what the Bush Administration is doing right now. Is the Bush Administration “withdrawing”?

Yet strangely, that argument is not made by Romney. Instead, he falls back on the usual, ‘you shouldn’t characterize my position, I should characterize my position.’

McCain is, I think, unfairly characterizing Romney’s words; Romney’s defense is bizarrely evasive and fuzzy.

They’ve discussed Romney’s pugnaciousness in the Corner a bit. I think his style was shaped by the boardroom, where there are rules of decorum, and you rarely hear somebody mocking you, sneering at you, or lying about your record. (I can hear the boardroom veterans now; “there’s more than you think.”

Mitt always speaks extremely politely, like he’s dealing with a disgruntled shareholder at the annual meeting. Come on, man. If this guy is lying about your record, isn’t that worth getting just a little bit angry over?