John McCain wants to put the DADT vote on TV

John is really working that re-election thing.

Wonk Room reports that Johnny wants an open session for the DADT vote:

Well now, sources close to the Senate Armed Services Committee are telling me that McCain has asked Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) that the vote on DADT repeal be in “open session.” Levin agreed and has said that the vote will occur sometime after lunch.

While some may interpret this as a ‘nod to transparency’, I expect McCain will use the time to grand stand on the issue and burnish his conservative credentials in light of his tough re-election race against J.D. Hayworth. Expect him to misrepresent the repeal compromise — which actually allows the Defense Department to complete its study before any repeal occurs and now has a 60-day cushion of review — and tout the letters of dissent he received yesterday from several service chiefs.

With the support of Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), repeal advocates believe they have enough votes (16) to attach repeal to the defense authorization bill.

I hope this backfires on him.

More to come