Hastings: I Didn't Think McChrystal Fallout Was Possible

Wunderscribe Michael Hastings chewed over the fallout from his Rolling Stone profile today, Politico reports, telling CNN that he "didn't even think it was possible." He also dismissed rumblings from the McChrystal camp that he used off-the-record comments, saying, “Some of the most talked about parts of the piece came in the first 24 hours when I was with his team. I didn’t have to seduce them or get them to like me very much at all." McChrystal, he notes, was the subject of several fawning profiles written by journalists worried about protecting future access.

• John McCain got on the bandwagon of those praising McChrystal's ouster: "The president realized this was an important moment and he made the right decision."
• "Winning in Afghanistan is having a country that is stable enough to ensure there is no safety for Al Qaeda or a militant Taliban that welcomes al-Qaeda," says Leon Panetta in outlining his vision of victory.
• Mike Huckabee stands by his use of "ick factor" in describing gay marriage: "It actually is a phrase that exists within the gay community. But if someone else talks about it it’s off bounds." Huck says he hasn't decided on a 2012 run, but considers himself the Republican favorite.
• Elena Kagan will "be pressed" on a 1995 article she wrote knocking high court nominees for avoiding viewpoints, says Dianne Feinstein. Kagan will have to convince Lindsey Graham she can put "all of this liberalism that she’s lived with all her life in a proper place."

(More Michael Hastings stories.)