A big part of the nuance you mention is that Keating was not only defending McBride, but also defending the dignity (what little there may be) of the US legislative body, and fulfilling his role as a publicly elected representative to advocate for the interests of the people he represents.

Also, while I do believe Keating deserves way more public attention and praise for this than I have seen, I would not say that he went “above and beyond” by defending McBride. He did what should have been done by anyone in his position.