How excessive is it? Enough to earn a scathing press release from the most media-friendly politician in America. I encourage you to compare it to TPM’s post yesterday unveiling the video to the world. The lefty hatchet men are a model of restraint compared to Sanchez trying, by sheer force of will, to turn this into McCain’s “macaca” moment.

Not only has the clip been edited for brevity but I had to cut an entire second segment they did with Whoopi Goldberg, who phoned in after Amy Holmes accused her here of having called George Bush the “c-word” at that notorious Kerry fundraiser back in 2004. Not true; as it turns out, Whoopi confined herself to a series of very tasteful, very clever “bush” puns. Don’t you feel foolish now, Amy?

One other point. Watch Sanchez seize on the fact that McCain apparently qualified his respect for Hillary by saying he’ll respect whomever the Democrats nominate, which, to Sanchez, means he respects Hillary about as much as he does Mr. Magoo. Am I the only who remembers McCain offering this at the last debate, while everyone else onstage was competing to see who could rip her most memorably?

Let me just say that I know and respect Senator Clinton.

The debate that I have between me and her will be based on national security, on fiscal conservatism, and on social conservatism. It will be a respectful debate. That is what the American people want.

I skipped the part at the end of the show where he read the answers to his mad libs invitation. It was simply … too painful.