In recent days, John McCain, Joe Lieberman, and Lindsay Graham have all advocated different variations of the "cut the head of the snake off" approach in regard to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

The Senators criticized President Barack Obama's dealings with the Libyan leader, arguing that the United States needs to do more to eliminate Gaddafi.

Which might be the correct opinion, but -- as Rachel Maddow pointed out -- the trio visited Libya 20 months ago and could not say enough nice things about the Colonel they are now calling an enemy of the American state.

Back in a 2009 democratic cable, "Lieberman called Libya an important ally in the war on terrorism" while McCain said the country's relationship with the US had taken a "remarkable and positive turn in recent years."

Now, however, the Senator from Arizona is comparing Gaddafi to another former dictator.

"I don't think we worried too much when we wanted to get rid of Hitler who would take his place," McCain told an interviewer.

Maddow, understandably, thought the three men's about-face was rather absurd, but also -- sadly -- rather just another day in Washington.

"Inviting these Senators to opine on the war and to chest bump about how if they were in charge, Gaddafi would be a dead man because only they have moral clarity about what a bad guy Gaddafi is," she said. "Having these Senators opine on this war, after they've just crawled out of Gaddafi's tent themselves? That is a political science case study in 'getting away with it.' In a just world, this would be embarrassing, but in the Beltway, it's just Sunday morning."

Video below.

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