Sleeping with prostitutes, harassing staff, under indictment, getting freebies from money men and influence peddlers — all more or less compatible with remaining in office. Criticizing Glenn Beck? Say Goodbye. At least in South Carolina.

Yesterday when I saw the full breadth of what was contained in the Rolling Stone article, my sense was that Obama had no choice but to fire McChrystal. At the same time, I wasn’t at all sure that he would. Indeed, if I’d have had to bet last night, I think I probably would have put my money on ‘no’. Everyone has discussed the obvious rationales of not wanting to disrupt the mission at a critical point and so forth. (The notion that McChrystal himself was somehow irreplaceable never struck me as a particularly serious concern) And this is why it seemed like such an impossible position President Obama had found himself in. But looking at it in advance and much more in retrospect, he simply had no choice. A commanding general’s open disagreement with the president is unacceptable. But mockery of the president, not just by the general but among his key staff, which goes to the atmosphere he’s created, is unpardonable.

If something like this went unchallenged Obama’s status as the ultimate commander of the American military would pass beneath a threshold level of credibility.

And yet, as I said a few moments ago, I’m not sure I thought he had it in him. But he did. I’ve learned something.

See the video of President Obama’s announcement of Gen. McChrystal’s ouster. Video after the jump … Read More

It’s not a rush for the exits by an degree. But opposition to Health Care Reform continues to decline. Indeed, the last two polls show it with more support than opposition, though only by the thinnest of margins. Will the two lines cross?

I was out for most of the last three hours. So I only caught the breaking news today in pings on my iPhone. My initial sense is, honestly, I wasn’t sure he had it in him. And the, I think, inspired decision (politically clever and on policy and operational grounds too) to replace McChrystal with Petraeus hadn’t occurred to me at all. More soon.

A disbelieving Jon Stewart channels Stanley McChrystal: “You know, I may be a four-star general and you may be a reporter for some hippie magazine, but I feel like I can trust you.” Watch.

TPM Reader RS sends in the (form?) response he received from Spirit Airlines to his complaint about its new “Check Out The Oil On Our Beaches” ad campaign: Read More

One would hope that intemperate remarks from one general would not be enough to change U.S. geopolitical strategy. So far the White House seems to be taking the long view here, understanding that the counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan is bigger than Gen. McChrystal or whoever else might be commander. McChrystal was indiscreet and bombastic. In the extreme view he was insubordinate. None of that is relevant to what long-term Afghanistan policy should be.

If you think counterinsurgency is the wrong strategy for Afghanistan, you have plenty of grounds for arguing that case independent of McChrystal’s comments. We have far worse problems than Afghanistan if a few too many Bud Light Limes can scuttle a mission and alter our long-term strategy.

Vitter aide Brent Furer has resigned following ABC report on him assaulting woman two years ago, according to the AP.