On the Senate floor, nonetheless. There’s something I like about this man.

Each member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had seven minutes to question Petraeus and Crocker about the Iraq War. Obama used about six minutes of his time to lecture Petraeus and Crocker that the surge is of modest success given the cost and the Iraq central government is ineffectual — points he has been making in speeches and debates. As Obama was wrapping up, he said, “That, of course, now leaves me very little time to ask questions, and that’s unfortunate.”

“That’s true, Senator,” piped up Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, the committee chairman and a rival for the Democratic nomination.

Petraeus never got to answer Obama’s 266-word question. Rushed at the end, Obama asked about benchmarks not met. Crocker said, “Senator, I described for Senator Sununu a little bit ago some of the things that I think are going to be very important as we move ahead.”

Obama tossed a softball: “Can you repeat those?

Biden asked Crocker to summarize and racing the clock, Crocker got in 215 words before Obama’s time was up.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) followed Obama. He told Petraeus and Crocker, “As you have found, our hearings are more about listening to ourselves than listening to our witnesses.”

Yep. That’s what the entire Senate hearing was about, though less-so in the House’s version. Obama, Clinton and Obama used the platform not to question a four-star general about an on-going war, but as a campaign platform. They’re all in the race for the coveted Liberal title of “Most Willing to Surrender”, and what better place to show off your qualifications, than the Senate floor before a four-star general?