I know some Democrats/Undecideds who think they are educated about John McCain. They say, "The press calls him a 'maverick' in the Republican Party. That must mean he opposes Bush on stem cell research, taxes, energy, Iraq, women's choice, gay rights, and so on ... right?" People fall into the mindset of, "I saw it on TV, and no one's refuting it, so it must be true!"
The fact is, McCain has simply branded himself - unilaterally - as a "maverick". He has enchanted the press by telling them to turn off their mics and then telling them bawdy stories about his past, laden with F-bombs and shots of scotch. The press loves that sh*t.
But let's start early in John's life. Apparently, as a child, if he didn't get his way he would hold his breath until he passed out. Then, McCain got into the Naval Academy at Annapolis. He got into Annapolis because his dad was an Admiral in the Navy. John's grandfather was also an Admiral. This could explain how John scored a high-profile flying assignment, even though John graduated fourth-from-last in his class.
After McCain was shot down and kept in a prison camp by the North Vietnamese, his freedom was offered, because the N. Vietnamese figured freeing the son of an Admiral would score high diplomatic points. Henry Kissinger turned them down. A few years later, McCain was heard thanking Kissinger for "preserving his honor". But this does not square with McCain's story - the one where he tells about how he turned down early release from the prison camp, to show solidarity with the rest of the captured soldiers. This is just one way John exploits his time in the P.O.W. camp. More on this later.
When McCain was finally released, he returned to a wife - a former swimsuit model - who had been in a terrible car accident. She required surgeries to save her life, which resulted in her ending up 5 inches shorter and disfigured. At the same time, McCain's future wife Cindy was being dangled in front of him to try to lure him into political office - to benefit Cindy's big-business family - as being the former POW and son of an Admiral carries a lot of clout. John was soon traveling back to Cindy's home state of Arizona and was being schmoozed by her monied connections. John presented his first wife with divorce papers and he married Cindy 6 weeks later. It is taken as a given that John and Cindy were having an adulterous relationship, but the press dares not speak of this for fear of being shunned by "the maverick". This was the start of McCain's political career, and he never went back to the military.
McCain keeps saying that he'll "fix Washington". But he's been in Washington for decades and has proffered no sweeping reform. Some bi-partisan bills he sponsored (eg the McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform bill he co-authored with stanch Democratic Senator Russ Feingold), which he now repudiates. McCain was also against tax-cuts for the rich, which was George W. Bush's version of Reagan's failed "trickle-down economics." But now McCain is *for* the Bush tax cuts for the rich. McCain was also part of the Keating Five - a group of 5 senators who were tried for taking money in order to help out the failing Lincoln Savings and Loan.
Currently, when confronted with difficult questions about his character (his temper, his infidelity, his fortune-by-marriage, his flip-flops, his poor choice for Vice President, etc), McCain or a surrogate and will say something to the effect that, "Well when I was in a P.O.W. camp for 5 and a half years, I didn't have
." McCain is using his P.O.W. experience as a "Get out of Jail Free Card" which he uses over and over. This sullies the sacrifice made by all P.O.W.s and their families.
But the press still loves him. When McCain makes gaffes, he's praised as being "authentic". If Obama makes a gaffe (rare as they are), the press takes up the Republican talking point that he's "inexperienced". McCain claims that "the Surge worked", and cites the drop in military casualties in Iraq. Obama rightly points out that the Surge was proposed in order to give Iraqi politicians time to sort out their differences. But that has not happened. The Surge was accompanied by bribes to *pay* both sides to stop fighting. The press still gets duped into saying that "Obama was wrong about the Surge ... because it worked." It didn't work - ethnic cleansing and bribes brought down the level of violence.
If elected President, McCain will simply continue Bush's campaign of frightening Americans into surrendering their tax dollars and sisters' and brothers' lives, so that money can be given to Republican-led military contractors. Money and treasure will be spent overseas ... not in America. McCain and the Republicans know this much is true: a well-paid, well-educated, and well-cared-for American electorate will not spawn Republican voters. No, the McCain/Bush/Republican strategy is to keep Americans off-balance, scared, and angry ... afraid of their neighbors and afraid of anything foreign. Just look at the fear manufactured against immigrants, gays, "the French medical system", human-caused global warming, alternative energy, and all other "new" things which, if embraced by Americans, will NOT make the Republican War Machine more money.
