Sen. Crotchety Routine Is Old

John McCain's complaining about the omnibus spending bill is starting to sound more like he's trying to fight the election again instead of fighting pork-barrel spending, Mike Madden writes in Salon. The senator appears to be going out of his way to remind people how much he disagrees with President Obama, Madden writes—even mastering Twitter to post dozens of snarky comments about the bill.

Even if McCain really is only continuing his long-running crusade against federal spending, Madden writes, he should realize that many of the earmarks he is lampooning fund important scientific research—and many others came from the GOP. The senator should also remember, Madden writes, that "voters evidently weren't sufficiently moved by McCain's anti-earmark outrage to put him in office."