SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:24 P.M. ET:

MORGAN OVER – It is being widely reported that Piers Morgan's CNN 9 p.m. interview show, the network's replacement for Larry King, will be terminated in March because of low ratings.  Morgan, a Brit, never caught on with American audiences.  And his anti-gun crusade, often filled with misinformation, antagonized a good part of America.

OLYMPICS OVER – The Sochi Olympics ended tonight.  They began with great fears of terrorism, but no incident occurred.  That does not prove that no incident was planned or contemplated.  We don't know.  It may be that Russian security was very good, or that the terror masters decided they'd be hurt, rather than helped, if they disrupted the games.  The games themselves were fine, but there was a certain spark lacking.  Sochi is a grim place, and the atmosphere of the games reflected it.  The NBC commentary at times also seemed to lack spirit.  The winter games in four years will be held in South Korea.  It will be fascinating to see how the North Koreans react.

LOVE IT – John McCain had the perfect response to Susan Rice's TV comments today that she didn't mislead the American people on Benghazi.  From Mediaite:  "On Face the Nation Sunday morning, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) literally laughed off National Security Advisor Susan Rice’s statement earlier on Meet the Press that she did not intentionally mislead in her September 2012 appearance on the Sunday shows in which she claimed that the Benghazi attack had been in part a 'spontaneous response' to an anti-Islam video. 'I’m almost speechless,' McCain told host Bob Schieffer. 'It’s patently obvious, first of all, that Susan Rice had no reason to be on the program, she had no involvement in it. Second of all, she read talking points, that we are now beginning to believe came from the White House, which were absolutely false. We now know that the CIA station chief on the ground sent a message immediately saying ‘not-slash-not spontaneous demonstration.'  'And of course, the information was totally misleading, totally false,' McCain continued."  McCain is right, but Rice was barely challenged by NBC's David Gregory when she made the statements today.

February 23, 2014