Has Sen. John McCain become so petty that he now feels he should freeze the entire federal government just to get his own way?

So it would seem.

The petulant Arizona senator and former presidential candidate seems unable to declare victory and move on.

McCain finally got his so-called campaign finance reform law earlier this year.

Many observers - including this page - believe that major parts of the measure violate the First Amendment and will be proven unconstitutional in court.

McCain, however, is furious with the Federal Election Commission ( news - web sites) (FEC) - the regulatory body which interprets every jot and tittle of election law.

The FEC interpreted some parts of McCain-Feingold in the strongest way possible - such as the ban on "issue ads" paid for by unregulated "soft" money. On the other hand, it allowed for more flexibility in the use of soft money by state political parties.

In other words, the FEC's decisions hardly pleased everyone.

Certainly not John McCain.

And here's what really ticked him off.

The FEC is composed of three Democrats and three Republicans. All decisions giving "flexibility" in the new law were decided by 4-2 votes, with Democrat Karl Sandstrom siding with three Republicans.

With Sandstrom's term expiring, the new Democratic pick is Ellen Weintraub. McCain wants Sandstrom gone yesterday. He demands that President Bush ( news - web sites) immediately appoint Weintraub - or else McCain will block any nominations coming from the White House.

In other words, McCain has threatened to block all presidential nominees until he gets his person on the FEC.

McCain's move is particularly ill-timed. After months of disagreement, Democrats and Republicans had reached an agreement on confirming Bush's judicial picks.

That's out the window now.

Perhaps Sen. McCain has forgotten that he lost the GOP presidential nomination two years ago.

And, not content with hollowing out the First Amendment, McCain now has set out to undermine the fellow who did win - George W. Bush.

Disgraceful.