Before You Vote For McCain on Super Tuesday…
Before you pull the lever for John McCain on Super Tuesday, please consider the following information first. As a Mitt Romney supporter, I would prefer to convince people why they should vote for my candidate, rather than against John McCain. However, I’ve tried this approach for the past 18 months, but people haven’t been able to get past his religion or the false impression that he’s a flip-flopper. As governor, Romney never contradicted a position he campaigned for in 2002 and while he did change his stance on abortion, he upheld his campaign promises throughout the end of his term. You can trust that the stances he is taking for America (which are decidedly different than the needs of Massachusetts in 2002), will be consistently adhered to while he is in office.
McCain on the other hand consistently changes positions, or blatantly lies about his record and the records of others. As accounts continue to surface about his private dealings with fellow legislators, staffers, and other private individuals, it is abundantly clear that John McCain is concerned about the one thing he’s always been concerned about—himself.
Perhaps you’ve resigned yourself to the “electability” argument, and believe that John McCain is the only Republican who could win in November. McCain will be the first one to tell you not to trust polls that come out 6 months before an election (just look at last July’s polling data for McCain). Additionally, you give the Democrats too much credit. As the economy and budget woes worsen, neither Hillary Clinton nor Barak Obama has any credibility to solve this impending crisis. On this issue alone, John McCain would be much easier to beat than Romney since he can’t run effectively on the economy. If we nominate John McCain, it will be like nominating Bob Dole all over again (and he was supposed to be the most electable at the time).
For all you know, everything I have just said could simply be made up charges for political reasons. So I ask you to take a look at the whole picture of John McCain’s life and his accelerated advancement through the naval ranks—in spite of his poor record and actions unbecoming of a Naval officer. As you read the following story of McCain’s Naval record, compare this with Mitt Romney and answer the following questions:
· Both had influential fathers, what did this give them in life?
· Both were accepted to prestigious universities, what did they do with that opportunity?
· Both had careers that ended in high-profile positions. How did they get there?
· How do their personal and family lives compare?
· What kind of people do they associate themselves with?
· What have these two candidate shown that they are good at?
John Sidney McCain III entered the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland in 1954. Young McCain wanted to become an admiral.
He planned to be the “first son and grandson of four star admirals” to achieve such a distinction. But that was not to be. McCain III possessed none of the innate character and discipline traits that helped mold his father and grandfather into great military leaders.
His father, John S. “Junior” McCain, and grandfather, John S. McCain, Sr., were famous four-star Admirals in the U.S. Navy. His father commanded U.S. forces in Europe before becoming commander of American forces fighting in Vietnam. His grandfather commanded naval aviation at the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. Both men became highly influential in U.S. Navy operations.
At the Academy, aside being known as a “rowdy, raunchy, underachiever” who resented authority, Cadet McCain became infamous as a leader among his fellow midshipmen for organizing “off-Yard activities” and hard drinking parties. Robert Timberg wrote in his book, The Nightingale’s Song, that “being on liberty with John McCain was like being in a train wreck.”
McCain’s grades were “marginal.” He drew so many demerits for breaking curfew and other discipline issues that he graduated fifth from the bottom of the class of 1958. Despite his low “class standing,” and no doubt because of the influence of his family of famous Admirals, McCain was leap-frogged ahead of more qualified applicants and granted a coveted slot to be trained as a navy pilot.
Good Party Animal - Bad Pilot:
He spent the next two and a half years as a “naval aviator in training” at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida and Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas, flying A-1 Skyraiders.
While a pilot trainee, McCain continued to party hard. He drove a Corvette and dated an exotic dancer named “Marie the Flame of Florida.” Timberg wrote that McCain “learned to fly at Pensacola, though his performance was below par, at best good enough to get by. He liked flying, but didn’t love it.”
McCain Lost Five Military Aircraft
McCain, the “below par” pilot, eventually lost 5 military aircraft, the first during a training flight in 1958 when he plunged into Corpus Christi Bay while trying to land. The Navy ignored the crash and graduated McCain in 1960.
While deployed in the Mediterranean, the hard partying McCain lost a second aircraft. Timberg described the crash: “Flying too low over the Iberian Peninsula, he took out some power lines which led to a spate of newspaper stories in which he was predictably identified as the son of an admiral.”
Unscathed, McCain returned to Pensacola Station where he was promoted to flight instructor for Naval Air Station Meridian in Mississippi. The airfield at Meridian, McCain Field, was named in honor of McCain’s grandfather.
In 1964 McCain became involved with Carol Shepp, a model from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he had met at Annapolis. They were married in Philadelphia on July 3, 1965.
Flight instructor McCain lost a third aircraft while flying a Navy trainer solo to Philadelphia for an Army-Navy football game. Timberg wrote that McCain radioed, “I’ve got a flameout” before ejecting at one thousand feet. McCain parachuted onto a beach moments before his plane slammed into a clump of trees.
The Navy dismissed the crash as “unavoidable” and assigned McCain to the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal in December 1966, which was patrolling the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. In Spring 1967, the Forrestal was assigned to join the Operation Rolling Thunder bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
McCain lost his fourth plane on board the Forrestal on July 29, 1967 when a rocket inadvertently slammed into his bomb laden jet. McCain escaped, but the explosions that followed killed 134 sailors. McCain was transferred from the badly damaged Forrestal to the USS Oriskany. Shortly afterwards, on Oct. 26, 1967, he was shot down and captured by the Vietnamese.
Post-POW Years: Political Ambition and a New, Young, Rich Wife
Upon his release from North Vietnam and return to the United States in 1973, McCain reunited with his wife, Carol, who had been permanently crippled in a car accident while he was a POW.
Still yearning to become an admiral, McCain enrolled in the National War College at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. and underwent physical therapy in order to fly again. The Navy excused his permanent disabilities and reinstated him to flight status, effectively positioning him for promotion.
Timberg described McCain’s advancement: “in the fall of 1974, McCain was transferred to Jacksonville as the executive officer of Replacement Air Group 174, the long-sought flying billet at last a reality. A few months later, he assumed command of the RAG, which trained pilots and crews for carrier deployments. The assignment was controversial, some calling it favoritism, a sop to the famous son of a famous father and grandfather, since he had not first commanded a squadron, the usual career path.”
While Executive Officer and later as Squadron Commander McCain used his authority to arrange frequent flights that allowed him to carouse with subordinates and “engage in extra-marital affairs.”
This was a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice rules against adultery and fraternization with subordinates. But, as with all his other past behaviors, McCain was never penalized; instead he always got away with his transgressions.
Timberg wrote, “Off duty, usually on routine cross-country flights to Yuma and El Centro, John started carousing and running around with women. To make matters worse, some of the women with whom he was linked by rumor were subordinates . . . At the time the rumors were so widespread that, true or not, they became part of McCain’s persona, impossible not to take note of.”
In early 1977, Admiral Jim Holloway, Chief of Naval Operations promoted McCain to captain and transferred him from his command position “to Washington as the number-two man in the Navy’s Senate liaison office. McCain was promptly given total control of the office. It wasn’t long before the “fun loving and irreverent” McCain had turned the liaison office into a “late-afternoon gathering spot where senators and staffers, usually from the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, would drop in for a drink and the chance to unwind.”
In 1979, while attending a military reception in Hawaii, McCain met and fell in love with Cindy Lou Hensley, 17 years his junior, who was the daughter of James W. Hensley, a wealthy Anheuser-Busch distributor from Phoenix, Arizona. McCain filed for and obtained an uncontested divorce from his wife in Florida on April 2, 1980 and promptly married Cindy on May 17, 1980.
He resigned from the Navy in 1981 and went to work for his father-in-law in Phoenix; where he used the opportunity to make powerful and wealthy friends in Arizona including banker Charles Keating and Duke Tully, the editor-in-chief of the Arizona Republic. Keating was later convicted of fraud, racketeering, and conspiracy and Tully was disgraced for concocting a phony military record of combat in Korea and Vietnam including medals for heroism.
McCain ran for Arizona’s First Congressional District in 1982. McCain won the congressional seat. In 1987 McCain was elected to the US Senate.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961665/posts (see the comments section below the original post)
Addtionally…
“… But there was one subject that was off-limits, a subject the Arizona senator almost never brings up and has never been open about — his long-time opposition to releasing documents and information about American prisoners of war in Vietnam and the missing in action who have still not been accounted for. Since McCain himself, a downed Navy pilot, was a prisoner in Hanoi for 5 1/2 years, his staunch resistance to laying open the POW/MIA records has baffled colleagues and others who have followed his career. Critics say his anti-disclosure campaign, in close cooperation with the Pentagon and the intelligence community has been successful. Literally thousands of documents that would otherwise have been declassified long ago have been legislated into secrecy.“
********************
John McCain has a life-long record of bad decisions, with one good decision getting far too much weight. As a prisoner in Vietnam he was given the choice to get out due to the high-profile position his father held in the US Navy. John McCain decided to stay and follow the “first-in, first-out” rule for prisoner conduct. That was a good decision. It showed loyalty to his fellow servicemen—both prisoners and other serving—and it has garnered him the title of hero. But doing heroic things doesn’t automatically give you a heroic character. Did this decision change John McCain? Did he become a loyal, altruistic, and selfless person? No.
· He was not loyal to his first wife
· He has not been loyal to the Republican Party
· He has not been loyal to conservative principles
· He has not been loyal to constitutional principles
· He has not been loyal to conservative voters
The traits that we associate with John McCain “the war hero” are not the same traits that John McCain “the person” possesses. Please consider this when you vote on Super Tuesday. This is the last chance we have to salvage the conservative coalition by selecting a true conservative to represent our party. And with the challenges we face as a country, we need a proven problem-solver—not a “hero in name only”.
February 1st, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Wow, thank you. I did no know any of this.
February 1st, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Shouldn’t Republicans be wary of this information coming out and being used in the general election? Are there women who will come forward ala Bill Clinton and embarass McCain exposing illicit conduct? Is there someone who will figure out a way to “unseal” the military records? This seems like a lot of baggage to carry.
February 1st, 2008 at 5:21 pm
I have often thought the same thing about opportunity and what you do with it. Mitt is critized because his Dad was successful, yet Mitt graduated Valedictorian from BYU and with top honors from Harvard. McCain is the son of an Admiral (I don’t know too many poor Admirals); then goes to school at the Naval Academy (on tax payer money) and graduates at the bottom of his class. Mitt is critized for being out of Mass. for the last year of his term of Gov. (note he did not take any pay for his services). Yet McCain is actively campaigning now while still on the clock for the Senate. Mitt is critized for changing his positions yet both McCain and Huckabee have changed during this election cycle on some pretty major issues. I really don’t how how you could put each of their resumes side by side and objectively choose McCain for the job. It seems that this election is about “who you know, not what you know.” Sad really.
February 1st, 2008 at 5:27 pm
America needs to realize that Mitt Romney is not the usual candidate. People like Romney do not usually run for office. He is doing this because he feels that he is the right person for the job at this time in Americas history. I think when the topic of the economy comes up in the White House our President should be the smartest person in the room. That person is Mitt Romney. He is not a polished politician or comedian. He is a serious man for a serious time for America. I am tired of Washington insiders running this country. I am ready for new ideas outside of Washington. Republicans should wake up and vote for Mitt Romney.
February 1st, 2008 at 6:13 pm
To John’s comment above.
I heartily agree, and this should give us all pause. When was the last time such a well-qualified AND good man ran for president? We could use more Governor Romneys. The sad fact of the matter is anyone else of his stature would be crazy to subject themselves to this after seeing how badly Governor Romney has been treated.
Let’s work hard for the outcome both he and we as a party and nation deserve.
February 1st, 2008 at 7:29 pm
It drives me BONKERS that John McCain cannot even decide whether he supports his *own* immigration bill. Last week: Yes! CA debate: No! Today: ????
Yet Mitt is the flip flopper?
February 1st, 2008 at 8:18 pm
I just returned home from the Mitt Romney Campaign Headquarters in SLC where I have been making calls to Colorado in behalf of Gov. Romney. Unfortunately, the dirty tricks (robo calls) have started in Colorado. I talked with several people who have received recorded calls today which said they were from the Romney campaign and blasting McCain. Sounds like a Florida repeat.
February 1st, 2008 at 9:49 pm
The Media’s November Strategy
McCain is going to be 73 years old and has health issues. If he gets the nomination, watch how fast the media will start to raise doubts about his age and health. Why do you think the media at large wants him to get the nod? They know the republican base will be fractured, which gives them so much satisfaction, they are practically orgasmic. But how do you get those moderates to swing to the dumbocrat? The media will start to sow the seeds of doubt and see to it that he’s portrayed in people’s minds as an aging senior more fit for the old age home than the White House. The media’s choice will always be the liberal Dumbocrat over the liberal Republican. McCain actually thinks they are on his side—they are—only when he bashes conservatives and other Republicans or until they accomplish the first step in getting him the nomination. Then, they will turn and see to it that he loses to Hillary or Obama. Johnny may lose his temper at the turn coats in the media after this is all over—oh well!
February 2nd, 2008 at 1:01 am
AHHH… wow what an eye-opener…
Forgive me… but sorry, but I have a very hard time seeing McCain as a hero. He does not come across as one to me at all and I am not ashamed of what I am saying… however… I have a feeling it’s a sensitive thing so we are ‘obligated’ to honor him as a hero… but after reading the article above. It turned me completely off! In what ways is he seen as an hero… What say you?
Frankly I see MCain more of a survivor than a hero if you see where I am coming from… I really do not know sorry if I crossed a line somewhere… it’s the frustration in my total inability in seeing him as a hero after life time behaviorism… and finally, his ill-treatment to Mitt… dishonest and devious, I know Mitt said it’s “Washington Politics”… he said it the way as he would because it’s his awesome thick-skinned nature- as a Mitten, I admire Mitt big time! The way he and his mother bashed Mitt hurt my feelings big time, you know…
Why are people saying he’s a hero… I do not understand.
Can you summarize what made him a hero so I can see another perspective to this puzzle.
February 2nd, 2008 at 1:25 am
I was for Rudy and the day before he dropped out I signed with a Rudy Group, He sure was gutless , endorsing McCain, I like Romney and will support him, As a conservative
Republican I just can’t believe what is happening. I’ve lived in So. Calif all my life except
1997 to 2002 I lived in Arizona. Before I moved I thought McCain was a great person,
I also found AZ. was Turning into liberal California. The Republicans in AZ don”t like him
that is why all the liberals in Az. love him only in AZ. though. The personal dirt is going
to fly, His affairs, His rich wife’s drug habit . I really think it is going to be Clinton V. McCain I wish I had registered Demo, so I could vote for Obama in this primary But I
will drag my sorry self out of bed Tue. Just glad I didn’t send in my absentee ballot.
I don”t drink alcohol But I just gave up coffee, so I think I’ll drink a giant cup.
I have an original signed picture of my husband and Reagan at his retirement office.
I would like to donate it to your group . I’m new to computer stuff. So however your
group can get a hold of me , I know my address is hidden, Just do your magic!!
Joaniepony
February 2nd, 2008 at 1:47 am
I think our culture dictates that we make heroes of those that survive circumstances in defending our country that are very difficult. I’m OK with that and wouldn’t want to minimize or dishonor someone who experienced captivity and mistreatment. It does seem to me, however, that the majority of people like that usually insist that they are not heroes, just ordinary people who do what they have to do when put in that situation. What is extraordinary is someone who defines themselves by the experience. I want to say to John McCain, “OK, but what have you done lately?” The presumption is that none of the rest us have had difficult experiences. I think of how difficult it must have been for Mitt Romney to have nearly been killed in the automobile accident in France. His heart must have been heavy as there had been a death, but he picked himself up out of the ashes and did an even better job and inspired those around him by so doing. That’s my definition of a hero and all the more so because he doesn’t define himself as such–he lets me do it. Just my two cents.
February 2nd, 2008 at 2:06 am
Thanks Kathleen… for your insight. I appreciated it…
Now I understand why I was feeling this way. A Hero is usually, if not always, humble.
McCain is extremely arrogrant… not lately… he has always been explosive and argumentive… ummm… What’s more… he used his war credentials once too many times, you know… this is a turn-off for me even, Okay, MCain is a hero, whenever Hero acts arrogrant… I see that person as more of an an “Ego-Head”.
The key is Humility vs Ego-centered. I guess he’s a rare-type of hero, oh well.
February 4th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Mr. Blonquist;
I give you the benefit of the doubt that you are well meaning and sincere in your political philosophy. But in advocating your candidate you debase his opposition? Is this what it means to be a “conservative” today?
And don’t give me the school yard argument that “everyone else is doing it.” We both know that is no excuse for poor conduct.
I have been a “conservative” since supporting Barry Goldwater in his bid for the Presidency…yes, I go that back that far. I remember the infamous television commercial showing a little girl with a daisy, and then a mushroom cloud of a hydrogen bomb exploding in the background. The Democrats slammed Goldwater with this ad, saying he would start a nuclear war. Two years later, Mr. Johnson got his war through the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and over 53,000 Americans got their names on a “black wall” in Washington D.C.
Your representation of McCain’s war record is taken from someplace called “Freerepublic.com” and written by someone who identifies himself as “sundog.” Are you serious?
I doubt that you have any first hand knowledge of John McCain’s war record, or if you ever even alive during Vietnam. Obviously we cannot reach any conculsion about Mr. Sundog’s credentials now, can we?
Today many so called conservatives are engaging rhetoric. It is argument founded on emotion and not fact. People like Rush Limbaugh (a very articulate man, but also one of limited intelligence and intellectual achievement) are not credible sources. They make money, a lot of money, by being provocative. Mr. Blonquist, talk radio hosts, conservative or liberal, are in business to make money and retain sponsors. They are not Ultraists pining away for the days of Reagan. And they sure as hell don’t speak for me! Conservatives speak for themselves! I don’t need a phoney-baloney like Limbaugh to tell me what to think or how to vote.
And, alas, web sites that have an ideological ax to grind are not credible either. And, I am sorry, neither is Mr. Sundog or freerepublic.com. And while we’re at it….Wikipedia is a stretch….if you quote it, be sure to check the footnotes to make sure you aren’t getting a lot of garbage from a biased source. Wikipedia is not referred…it’s pretty much a crap shoot if you are getting reliable information. But I digress…
We, without any other substantiation or documentation, know the following as fact:
1) John McCain flew combat missions in Vietnam
2) John McCain was shot down over Vietnam
3) John McCain suffered broken arms and leg
3) John McCain was a POW for 5 and a half years
4) Returned home, with honor, and without preferential treatment.
Celestina (you’re wrong, they weren’t just “survivors”… they made a conscious effort to resisted…they are heroes)…
Kathleen (find out for yourself what it was like to endure Hanoi’s POW camps…it is a much different experience than an automobile accident)….
SCannon (In 1963 Admiral McCain…a 4 star Admiral…made a whopping $1,785 per month, or $21,420 per year…a “rich man” eh?….And you know, I had a student deferrment and gave it up. I graduated in the bottom half of my class, partied hard….and only lost part of the use of my leg in the Marines. Never even came close to what McCain went through. You have no idea how the military system works. Admiral’s kids have their butts kicked harder than the next guy’s…because of their dad’s rank. The Naval Academy was brutal when McCain was a Mishipman.
Each of you…. instead of watching “Deal or No Deal” tonight, go to the library and read a credible book on what went on in those POW camps. I am not saying that being a POW is grounds for the Presidency. But do not dare diminish that experience.
If you want a scholarly work on the Vietnam POWs try Craig Howes, “Voices of the Vietnam POWs, Witness to Their Fight,” Oxford University Press, 1993. McCain is prominently mentioned. Or try Jim Stockdale’s “Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot” (a Medal of Honor recipient who was at Hanoi with McCain).
John Marke
February 4th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
John Marke:
McCain’s Heroism of a very long time ago… has been overshadowed by his poor actions and his mean-streak politics- using war credentials as his only proof that he will be a good president. If he really wanted to do something in Washington… He may become a Secretary of Defense - BUT NEVER as the US PRESIDENT…
Absolutely No thanks to his foul-mouth, trigger-finger, and lifelong temperament. It has spoiled his status. I am sorry to say this… but it’s true. I understand he suffered
greatly as a POW and it’s now in the past. I can imagine what POWs went through. I watched several holocaust movies over the years… SO WHAT!
Everyone struggles in life one way or another… So did my people, the Deaf people and during WWII they were killed off because they were not perfect in Hitler’s eyes… not only the Jews but the DEAF people were being experimented upon and then gassed to death! The person’s heroism means absolutely nothing to me if the person does not show real humility!
HERO or not… SO WHAT!
That’s my solid stand on McCain. Heroism means nothing to me, it will never be the #1 priority in determining whether someone should be the next president.
On the other hand, Mitt worked extraordinarily hard all his life and never bothered to tout his credentials until it’s time… he has to as an unknown in order to prove himself as our next leader… He has risen to this wondrous occassion as our next US Leader…
Finally, for those who continues to refuse to give Mitt the chance… May God forgive you for you know not what you were doing.
May God’s Mercy be upon America together with her conservative Americans they continue to fight opposition from all sides to the end.
GO MITT! WE WILL TRIUMPH SOMEHOW!
February 4th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
John Marke
You might want to read my post a little more carefully. I gave John McCain every respect for his heroism. (For instance, I always use his full and correct name–never an insulting slur or play on his name.) I don’t believe you have any basis for assuming that I have not already read the books you suggest. I did not equate a car accident with a POW experience. I just pointed out that all lives have difficulties in them. My point really was that it shows much more class to allow us to admire and revere those who have overcome hard things than to demand that we do so.
February 4th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Wow, interesting information. I wonder how many people know McCain left a crippled wife. Guess she could not have furthered his political career like Cyndi. I have had the opportunity to spend alot of time with wealthy citizens of our Country. One lady of a prominate family had a son that was angry with a decision she had made about the family business and dynasty. He wanted it turned over to him. She felt it should be sold to ensure it was run successfully. Her concern was protecting the jobs of generations of families that had worked for their corporations for years. She told me they had given him some of the entities over the year and he had run them all into the ground. She was not willing to risk turning everything over to him when her husband passed away. I was stunned when she looked at me and said, “I know ________ needs a position. I told him to run for the Congress or Senate”. True story. Those words ring in my ears whenever I see McCain.
February 4th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Kathleen;
Sorry if I misjudged you. I was taking a wide swipe. I assumed you had no knowledge of the brutality of the Camps.
Overall, America still seems reluctant to remember those times. But I am sure it is a defining moment in John McCain’s life. No, I don’t think “suffering” is a credential for the Presidency. Nor is being a POW. What is extrodinary about men like McCain and Stockdale (he was Perot’s VP running mate) was that they never broke faith. If, in the most horrible of circumstances, day-after-day for five and a half years, you keep faith with your fellow captives and follow “the Code.” THAT is heroism and that is telling about character and how a person will act in situations that are much less terrible.
And forgive me for assuming you had not read the books I suggested. However the primaries come out, get a copy of Stockdale’s book. He was a true conservative and fine intellectual. Write a review on Amazon, I’d like to know your thoughts.
As for Celistina…well…ya got me…pure and simple. Can’t argue with logic like that. But let me get this straight (I’m old and a bit befuddled) you write: “I can imagine what POWs went through. I watched several holocaust movies over the years… SO WHAT!”
Is that “so what” to the POWs? Or is it “so what to the victims of The Holocaust?” Or so what to both?
Semper Fi
John
February 4th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
John Marke,
I can appreciate how you might feel a bit defensive when a someone you can relate to is being attacked–for no matter what the reason, but this isn’t an attack on the armed forces in general, it’s focused on one individual who has failed in his post POW years to live up to the “Code” for conservatives. The code that was embodied by Ronald Reagan’s three-legged conservative stool. We know from POW accounts that when the code broke down in the Vietnam war camps, chaos ensued and morale faltered. Even periods of extreme duress were accompanied by higher morale than the easier later years when the code of conduct and leadership structure was not adhered to. McCain has done to the conservative movement what the undiciplined POW’s did to the war camps in the post-severe-torture years in Hanoi.
I would like to point out that this “attack” if you want to call it that, comes after 18 months of effort on my part to promote the positives of Mitt Romney, and only now, when we are faced with the defining moment of this campaign, have I decided that some important points about John McCain’s character need to be addressed. But you should notice that it’s not done as typical political name-calling attacks, instead, it attacks more of the media’s label-bias in granting McCain more character credit than he deserves.
As for the veracity of the content, the “Timberg” mentioned above is the same Robert Timberg who wrote John McCain’s biography: John McCain: An American Odyssey and most of the quoted information comes from his book.
http://www.amazon.com/John-McCain-American-Robert-Timberg/dp/068486794X
The facts above are accurate. In fact, McCain himself refers to these same times when describing his younger self as reckless and immature. All I’m saying is that he doesn’t appear to have changed much.
As to your assertion in number 4 that he “Returned home, with honor, and without preferential treatment.” I can’t accept that assumption as fact. There are many accounts of preferential treatment–especially during the time when he was supposedly in “solitary confinement”. All we have is his word on the subject. Based upon his comments last weekend about Romney’s use of the word “Time-tables”, I have somewhat less regard for his word.
I’m not going to assume he had preferential treatment, but I won’t state as fact that he didn’t. But even if he was the worst-treated prisoner in the camp, simply enduring that treatment doesn’t give someone heroic character.
I’ve read a substantial portion of “Voices of the Vietnam POWs”–one of the books mentioned above. The conditions were deplorable and the honor maintained by many of these soldiers is what enabled them to survive. I was also surprised at how little McCain’s name was mentioned. Some of the individuals you have mentioned are regulary cited in the accounts, but McCain is mostly only mentioned in connection with what he became after his POW days.
As a 16-year old boy, another former prisoner of the Hanoi Hilton spoke to my youth group at church. When I compare the character and accounts of this man with those of John McCain, I know that not everyone who returned as a POW returned as a hero–regardless of what the news coverage stated. John McCain doesn’t hold a candle to the man I witnessed sharing his incredible story with us. Based upon your last comment and responses to Celestina and Kathleen, I can see that McCain doesn’t hold a candle to your character as well. He would probably shout a series of obscenities and vow revenge upon those who challenge him.
Thanks for your service and for your respectful comments.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:03 am
John Marke
I appreciate your response. Using blogs is a great way to hide things like age. You allude to yours. Suffice it to say that I was a young adult during the Vietnam war and did not escape its tragedy and controversy. My husband was in the Air Force. Enough said, but I will take your advice and get the book to which you refer. I have a insatiable appetite for reading about World War II and Vietnam. Thank you for your observations
February 5th, 2008 at 1:56 am
Wow - very interesting.
Does anyone doubt that Hillary and the MSM will use this to defeat McCain in the fall?
This makes Romney, with his solid personal background, look more and more electable.
Go get ‘em Mitt!
February 12th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
The grassroots are rebelling!!!
Visit http://nowaymccain.com for more information!
At the site individuals can download PDF files of:
1) A resolution for individuals to sign and mail in to the leadership of the National Republican Party, the leadership of their state Republican Party, and all of the elected Republican officials who represent whatever area they live in. Elected officials will be extremely hesitant to ‘toe the party line’ and endorse McCain if they think that there will be any backlash against them personally.
2) A resolution for local Republican Party organizations to pass.
Thank you very much!