I think we know who the real John McCain is

At a campaign event in South Carolina Monday, a female supporter asked John McCain: "How do we beat the bitch?"

If the Arizona senator objected to that particular characterization of Sen. Hillary Clinton, he didn't exactly say so.

Instead, as the room erupted in laughter, McCain said he'd try to offer a "translation." Somebody in the audience shouted out, "I thought she was talking about my ex-wife." There was more laughter all around, and then McCain said: "That's an excellent question."

That's from Tim Grieve at Salon.  Note the sharp contrast with David Brooks' McCain encomium at the New York Times today.  It begins like this:

About six months ago, I was having lunch with a political consultant and we were having a smart-alecky conversation about the presidential race. All of sudden, my friend interrupted the flow of gossip and said: “You know, there’s really only one great man running for president this year, and that’s McCain.”

After an almost tearful love letter to John McCain, Brooks concludes:

Character is destiny, and you will never persuade me that he is not among the finest of men.