Jones tossed ice water on McChrystal's urgency. Afghanistan is "in no imminent danger of falling to the Taliban," and al-Qaida has "less than 100" fighters in the country, "no bases, no buildings to launch attacks either on us or our allies."
As for McChrystal's public campaign, said Jones, "It's better for military advice to come up through the chain of command."
Concentrating the minds of all on Sunday was news that 10 U.S. soldiers were killed, two by an Afghan solider, eight when their remote outpost near Pakistan was attacked by hundreds of Taliban.
As Obama approaches the pivotal decision of his presidency, here is where the major players seem to be lining up.
McChrystal believes so strongly in the need for 40,000 troops he could resign his command if denied them. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Michael Mullen seems to be in the McChrystal camp.
Gen. David Petraeus, regional commander for Afghanistan and Iraq, has yet to commit himself. But as architect of the surge in Iraq, he would seem to support McChrystal. What Petraeus will do, if the McChrystal request is denied, is the big question in Washington. For Petraeus reportedly sees himself as a presidential candidate.
From her own words, Hillary is with McChrystal: "Some people say, well, al-Qaida's no longer in Afghanistan. If Afghanistan were taken over by the Taliban, I can't tell you how fast al-Qaida would be back in Afghanistan."
This challenges what Gen. Jones said Sunday when he minimized the al-Qaida threat in Afghanistan and the Taliban threat to Kabul.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be a key player. It was he who relieved Gen. David McKiernan of his command in May, saying we need "fresh thinking," and turned Afghanistan over to McChrystal, whom he described as a soldier who shared the perspective of Petraeus. Can Gates come down against the general he appointed only months ago?
Yet Biden is not alone. Jones is receptive to his views, as are a majority of Obama's party on the Hill, as are White House aides who see Afghanistan as Obama's Vietnam, as is most of the nation.
Obama is thus being told by the McChyrstal camp: If you do not send the 40,000, you lose the war and the presidency. He is being told by the Biden camp: If you send the 40,000, Afghanistan will be your Vietnam; you will not win it by 2012; and you will lose the presidency.
Look for Obama, not a natural Decider, to split the difference and send a few thousand U.S. troops to train the Afghan army.