And the ranks fall...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Republican Sen. John McCain, a staunch defender of the Iraq war, on Tuesday faulted the Bush administration for misleading Americans into believing the conflict would be ``some kind of day at the beach.''

Finally, some spine has shown itself in Washington, and most impressively, on John McCain. Don't get me wrong, Mr. McCain is an American hero and deserves the respect of such a status. Regrettably, he has in recent years caved to the will of his party and quietly acquiesced to their demands and fallen in step. This I cannot support or condone.

During the 2000 primaries, he was slammed and insulted in his public and private lives by his own party. Attack ads suggested that he didn't earn his war hero status (sound familiar?) because he spent his time in the Hanoi Hilton, and that he was the father of an illegitimate black child (really his adopted daughter Bridget, rescued from a Bangladeshi orphanage).

Most despicably however, they threatened Mr. McCain with his membership in the party if he refused to support the Bush administration. Unfortunately, rather than make this despicable action public, Mr. McCain chose to go quietly with his captors.

Now though, perhaps based on his own experience in war (unlike almost every single major member of Mr. Bush's cabinet), McCain has taken to the streets with his outrage, and echoing the hearts and minds of the people of this great nation. In other words, he's doing his job. I, for one, am very proud that he has taken a stand, and I believe it may finally be time for the country to reverse course and right the wrongs of the last six years. Sometimes we just need a push.

``I think one of the biggest mistakes we made was underestimating the size of the task and the sacrifices that would be required,'' McCain said. ``Stuff happens, mission accomplished, last throes, a few dead-enders. I'm just more familiar with those statements than anyone else because it grieves me so much that we had not told the American people how tough and difficult this task would be.''