Michael Tomasky: McChrystal out, Petraeus in

By the time it happened, the firing of Stanley McChrystal had largely been drained of drama. We knew this morning that he went to the White House, stayed a mere 30 minutes and left, suggesting that he would not be standing next to Obama at any microphones later that day.

So when Obama finally did announce his sacking, it was expected. It was, as I finally came around to writing last night, the best move Obama had. From a constitutional perspective, Obama had to lay claim to the principle of...