War games: McCain caught playing poker on iPhone during Syria debate

Given he has been calling for the Syrian rebels to be armed for more than 18 months, you would have thought that Senator John McCain might have been interested in what was said during the three-hour hearing of the Senate committee on foreign relations discussing the potential use of force against the Assad regime.

But it seems the former US Republican presidential candidate, who is perhaps the loudest voice in US politics in favour of intervention on behalf of the Syrian rebels, had more pressing things on his mind.

McCain was caught by a Washington Post photographer playing poker on his iPhone during the hearing. Perhaps the Republican pro-interventionist, who was critical of the president for asking Congress for approval to strike Syria, was trying to make some clumsy metaphor about Obama's political gamble or the high stakes involved. Or maybe not.

The senator later owned up, making light of it. He seemed to imply that the reason he was gaming was the sheer length of the committee meeting. "Scandal! Caught playing iPhone game at 3+ hour Senate hearing – worst of all I lost!" he tweeted.

If that was supposed to excuse him, it didn't work. His post prompted a number of withering responses, which variously pointed out the gravity of the issues being discussed and the amount of money that senators earn – $174,000 (£112,000) a year..

"@SenJohnMcCain That hearing sounds so boring though. Hope it wasn't about anything important," tweeted Michael Arria.