McCain on the Daily Show:
Stewart: Didn't Gates say that the idea that we would set deadlines, didn't even he say that would help them put pressure on Maliki's government?
McCain: No. What he said was that we need to put pressure on the government and the government is not functioning as we want it to.
Speaking during a Middle East tour, Gates said the debate in Congress "has been helpful in demonstrating to the Iraqis that American patience is limited. The strong feelings expressed in the Congress about the timetable probably has had a positive impact...in terms of communicating to the Iraqis that this is not an open-ended commitment."
Here, by the way, is McCain's interview. His casual disingenuousness with words like "surrender" is fascinating to watch, if only because it offers such a stark contrast with the tribune of good-faith politics and fresh thought McCain was seen as in 2001.
