THE HIVE MIND OF THE RIGHT
(with an update)

William Kristol:

If Stan McChrystal has to go -- and he probably does -- it will be a sad end to a career of great distinction and a low moment in a lifetime devoted to duty, honor, and country.

... McChrystal should not be the only one to go. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry and "AfPak" czar Richard Holbrooke should likewise either submit their resignations or be fired by President Obama....

The imposition of a troop-withdrawal deadline, in particular, has poisoned our Afghanistan strategy.

... the war ... can be won, though it will take some time. The war can, however, be lost rapidly in Washington.

John McCain:

"If the president fires McChrystal, we need a new ambassador and we need an entire new team over there. But most importantly, we need the president to say what Secretary Clinton and Secretary Gates have both said but what the president refuses to say: Our withdrawal in the middle of 2011 will be conditions based. It's got to be conditions based and he's got to say it....

"He won't say this because he's captive of his far-left base."

So all the Republicans in America not named Paul or Buchanan now have their talking points and their marching orders -- which means Barack Obama also has his marching orders, and doesn't need to ask "How high?" when all of these Republicans -- Liz Cheney and Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin and Andrew McCarthy and all the other self-styled commanders of the commander in chief -- order him to jump. He knows how high. This is how high. This is what he must do, or be declared a traitor.

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UPDATE: Toby Harnden of The Telegraph posted this a few hours ago:

A senior Capitol Hill source tells me that General Stanley McChrystal had tendered his resignation to President Barack Obama and that the White House is actively discussing a replacement who could be quickly confirmed by the Senate....

A "replacement who could be quickly confirmed by the Senate"? With the Republicans, is there any such thing? If McChrystal does go, will at least a few Republicans threaten to block confirmation of his replacement unless Obama cleans house following the script above? I wouldn't be surprised -- they're Republicans, and you know it's not a threat to the war effort if Republicans do something like this, by definition.