John McCain has taken the baton from Dick Cheney as drum major in the crazy parade. McCain said today it would have been a “serious mistake” to read the suspect arrested in connection with the May 1 attempted Times Square bombing his Miranda rights.

“Obviously that would be a serious mistake…at least until we find out as much information we have,” McCain said during an appearance on “Imus in the Morning” when asked whether the suspect, 30-year-old Faisal Shahzad, a naturalized American citizen from Pakistan.

“Don’t give this guy his Miranda rights until we find out what it’s all about,” McCain added.”

Sen. McCain, I know the suspect doesn’t have a good old ‘Murrican name like John, or Cindy…or even Sarah, but he is a United States citizen and he is entitled to Constitutional rights.

Scott Lemieux at Lawyers, Guns, and Money asks this:

“Did John McCain strenuously object when Scott Roeder was read his Miranda rights?   If not, I wonder what criteria McCain is using to determine which American terrorists are entitled to their constitutional rights and which aren’t?”

But the Arizona Senator didn’t stop there. He’s already assessed the death penalty—despite not knowing the charges:

“There’s probably about 350 different charges he’s guilty off — attempted acts of terror against the united States, attempted murder,” said McCain, cautioning that he’s not privy to the charges with which Shahzad might be charged. “I’m sure there’s a significant number to warrant the death penalty.”

And not to be outdone, New York Rep. Peter King also questioned the Justice Department with this:

“Did they Mirandize him? I know he’s an American citizen but still,” King said.”

I’ll leave it to your imagination what Rep. King was thinking but left unsaid.