It's an aberration. McCain can almost always be relied on to say or do the wrong thing. It's not suprising that Russert was surprised by this response, because McCain almost always is happy to be a tool of the leftist media in exchange for constant favorable publicity.
And yet, we can still look up to the New York Times.
Take comfort knowing that there is no ammount of money you could pay them to write something positive about either George Bush or the US military.
Rush Limbaugh: Propaganda from Saddam Was Fine with Press
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1533424/posts