If John McCain had jokingly sung "bomb, bomb Iran" during his 2000 nomination run, reporters would have dissolved in appreciative laughter, tickled at the rascally authenticity of the Arizona senator.

If John McCain had jokingly sung "bomb, bomb Iran" during his 2000 nomination run, reporters would have dissolved in appreciative laughter, tickled at the rascally authenticity of the Arizona senator. Now, his playful riff off the classic song is practically considered evidence of his dangerous instability. The parting of McCain and the mainstream media now is complete, the rupture sealed by McCain's eloquent and heartfelt speech at the Virginia Military Institute making the case for trying to win the war in Iraq. The speech represented the kind of poll-defying courage that media types usually say they yearn for, but the press loves its narrative of defeat in Iraq more than it ever loved John McCain. Expect tense times ahead on the Straight Talk Express.