President McCain Watch Continues

Steve Benen's President John McCain watch continues, because as always whenever the Village wants to know what the GOP is thinking on the Sunday shows, they ask President John McCain.

NBC News announced the line-up for this week's "Meet the Press." Take a wild guess who'll be on.

Also This Sunday: Exclusive! Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
Sen. John McCain, the Republican Presidential Nominee in 2008, and Ranking Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, gives us his reaction to the president's plan.

I especially loved the "Exclusive!" with the exclamation point, as if this were a rare, special occurrence.

For those keeping score at home, as of this weekend, there will have been 47 Sundays since President Obama's inauguration in January. With this 16th appearance on a Sunday morning talk show this week, John McCain will have been a guest on one of the programs every 2.9 weeks. No other official in the country has been sought out by bookers this often.

Now, with McCain being the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, I can actually see why they'd want his opinion on Afghanistan.  It would be nice to have him balanced by the top Democrat and Chairman on that committee, Carl Levin.  For that matter, ANY DEMOCRAT would do.

Sadly, that's not to be.  President McCain's opinion is vital to taking the pulse of the nation, you see.  The 15 other weekly appearances however is borderline egregious.

[UPDATE 10:50 AM]  And gosh, guess what President McCain is going to say on Sunday?

But Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the leading Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said while he agrees with the president's decision to up the number of troops, setting a timeline for withdrawal will only allow the Taliban to regroup and emerge stronger when U.S. forces leave Afghanistan.

"I support the president's decision to have a properly resourced counter insurgency strategy," McCain told "Good Morning America's" Robin Roberts today. "My only difference... is setting a date for return. ... Dates should be determined by success on the ground not by the calendar."