This sentiment is common on the Left: “Why exactly do Democrats need to bring up McCain’s military record every single time they criticize him? It feels contrived, sounds phony, and makes McCain appear to be a larger-than-life figure.”

Well, for starters, he is a larger-than-life figure who endured torture for his country. But I agree it is phony, in the sense that many left-leaning Democrats don’t think much of that service. They cheered as the parade of disparaging surrogates came forward to bash McCain’s service.

But the real nub of the matter is that this is the elephant in the room, the cloud which hangs over the Democrats. McCain’s record of sacrifice and personal deprivation is the indisputable evidence of heroic leadership to which there is no real political response. Better to mention it so that everyone isn’t preoccupied by it, they reason, and then move on. But it is there. It would pose a tricky problem for an accomplished political opponent. But it is even more problematic for someone with absolutely no national achievements other than a primary victory to his name.

McCain, or better yet his VP, would do well not just to remind the public of McCain’s military service, but to ask the uncomfortable follow-up: What has Barack Obama done that remotely compares to it? No wonder the subject makes Democrats queasy.