John McCain can’t stop stressing the enormity of the financial crisis. A month ago he told Katie Couric, “The financial crisis is on the verge of a very, very serious, most serious crisis since the end of World War II.”

McCain got carried away again on Sunday with Tom Brokaw, when he attempted to describe the size of the crisis. “We are in a financial crisis of monumental proportions,” the senator said. A few minutes later, he said we’re facing “a massive crisis of proportions that we have not seen.”

Oy! That sounds pretty bad.

Crisis is an intense word, meaning “crucial time” and “critical phase.” It rarely merits an intensifier, such as “monumental.”

McCain, just because you’re 92 doesn’t mean you have to try so hard. Lay off the needless intensifiers.