John McCain Totally Explained

Everything about John Mccain totally explained

John Sidney McCain III (born August 29 1936) is the senior United States Senator from Arizona and presumptive Republican Party nominee for President of the United States in the upcoming 2008 election.
   McCain graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1958 and became a naval aviator, flying attack aircraft from carriers. During the Vietnam War, he nearly lost his life in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. Later that year while on a bombing mission over North Vietnam, he was shot down, badly injured, and captured as a prisoner of war by the North Vietnamese. He spent five and a half years as a prisoner of war, experiencing episodes of torture.
   McCain retired from the Navy in 1981 and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona in 1982. After serving two terms, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, winning reelection in 1992, 1998, and 2004. While generally adhering to conservative principles, McCain established a reputation as a political maverick for disagreeing with his party on several key issues. Surviving the Keating Five scandal of the 1980s, he made campaign finance reform one of his signature concerns, eventually co-sponsoring the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act in 2002.
   McCain lost the Republican nomination in the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush. He ran again for Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and gained enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee on March 4, 2008.

Early life and military career

Formative years and education

McCain was born at Coco Solo Naval Air Station in Panama to naval officer John S. McCain, Jr. (1911–1981) and Roberta (Wright) McCain (b. 1912). At that time, the Panama Canal was under American control, and the McCain family was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone.
McCain has Scots-Irish and English ancestry. His father and paternal grandfather both became four-star United States Navy admirals.
In 1951, the family settled in Northern Virginia, and McCain attended Episcopal High School, a private preparatory boarding school in Alexandria. In high school, he excelled at wrestling and graduated in 1954. McCain had conflicts with higher-ups, and he was disinclined to obey every rule, which contributed to a low class rank (894/899) that he didn't aim to improve. McCain did well in academic subjects that interested him,

Military service and marriages

John McCain's pre-combat duty began when he was commissioned an ensign, and started two and a half years of training as a naval aviator at Pensacola. There he also earned a reputation as a party man. Graduating from flight school in 1960, on the aircraft carriers USS Intrepid and USS Enterprise, in the Caribbean Sea and in the Mediterranean Sea. He survived two airplane crashes and a collision with power lines. McCain adopted her two young children Douglas and Andrew.
   McCain requested a combat assignment, and in December 1966 was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal flying A-4 Skyhawks. McCain's combat duty began when he was 30 years old. In summer 1967, Forrestal was assigned to a bombing campaign during the Vietnam War. McCain and his fellow pilots were frustrated by micromanagement from Washington, and he'd later write that "In all candor, we thought our civilian commanders were complete idiots who didn’t have the least notion of what it took to win the war." McCain was struck in the legs and chest by fragments. The ensuing fire killed 134 sailors and took 24 hours to control. With the Forrestal out of commision, McCain volunteered for assignment with the USS Oriskany. John McCain's capture and imprisonment began on October 26, 1967. He was flying his twenty-third bombing mission over North Vietnam, when his A-4E Skyhawk was shot down by a missile over Hanoi.
   Although McCain was badly wounded, his captors refused to treat his injuries, instead beating and interrogating him to get information. Only when the North Vietnamese discovered that his father was a top admiral did they give him medical care and The Washington Post.
   McCain spent six weeks in the Hoa Loa hospital while receiving marginal care. in December 1967, into a cell with two other Americans who didn't expect him to live a week. In March 1968, McCain was put into solitary confinement, where he'd remain for two years.
   In mid-1968, McCain's father was named commander of all U.S. forces in the Vietnam theater, and McCain was offered early release. The North Vietnamese wanted a worldwide propaganda coup by appearing merciful, and also wanted to show other POWs that elites like McCain were willing to be treated preferentially. McCain was subjected to repeated beatings and rope bindings, at the same time as he was suffering from dysentery. but as he'd later write, "I had learned what we all learned over there: Every man has his breaking point. I'd reached mine." His injuries left him permanently incapable of raising his arms above his head. He subsequently received two to three beatings per week because of his continued refusal to sign additional statements. Other American POWs were similarly tortured and maltreated in order to extract "confessions" and propaganda statements, with many enduring even worse treatment than McCain.
   McCain refused to meet with various anti-war groups seeking peace in Hanoi, not wanting to give either them or the North Vietnamese a propaganda victory. From late 1969 on, treatment of McCain and many of the other POWs became more tolerable, while McCain continued to be an active resister against the camp authorities. McCain and other prisoners cheered the B-52-led U.S. "Christmas Bombing" campaign of December 1972 as a forceful measure to push North Vietnam to terms.
   Altogether, McCain was held as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for five and a half years. He was finally released from captivity on March 14, 1973. McCain's return to the United States reunited him with his wife and family. His wife Carol had suffered her own crippling ordeal during his captivity, due to an automobile accident in December 1969.
   McCain underwent treatment for his injuries, including months of grueling physical therapy, By late 1974 McCain had his flight status reinstated, He turned around a mediocre unit and won the squadron its first Meritorious Unit Commendation. he'd later accept blame. He would later say it represented "[my] real entry into the world of politics and the beginning of my second career as a public servant". it was unlikely he'd be promoted further, because he'd poor annual physicals and had been given no major sea command. as a captain, and headed west to Arizona. His seventeen military awards and decorations include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Navy Commendation Medal, and are for actions before, during, and after his time as a POW.

House and Senate career, 1982–2000

U.S. Congressman and a growing family McCain set his sights on becoming a Congressman upon moving to Arizona, because he was interested in current events, was ready for a new challenge, and had developed political ambitions during his time as Senate liaison. Living in Phoenix, he went to work for Hensley & Co., his new father-in-law Jim Hensley's large Anheuser-Busch beer distributorship, as Vice President of Public Relations. and newspaper publisher Darrow "Duke" Tully. As a newcomer to the state, McCain was hit with repeated charges of being a carpetbagger.}}
With the assistance of local political endorsements, his Washington connections, as well as money that his wife lent to his campaign,
McCain's politics at this point were mainly in line with President Ronald Reagan, and he was active on Indian Affairs bills. He won re-election to the House easily in 1984. Although McCain chooses not to make it a "talking point," James ("Jimmy") served in Iraq until February 2008. In 1991, Cindy McCain brought an abandoned three-month old girl needing medical treatment to the U.S. from a Bangladeshi orphanage run by Mother Teresa; the McCains decided to adopt her, and named her Bridget.

First two terms in U.S. Senate

McCain's Senate career began in January 1987, after longtime American conservative icon and Arizona fixture Barry Goldwater retired as United States Senator from Arizona. McCain defeated his Democratic opponent, former state legislator Richard Kimball, by 20 percentage points in the 1986 election. McCain was a strong supporter of the Gramm-Rudman legislation that enforced automatic spending cuts in the case of budget deficits.
   McCain soon gained national visibility. He delivered a well-received speech at the 1988 Republican National Convention, he was mentioned by the press as a short list vice-presidential running mate for Republican nominee George H. W. Bush, McCain became enmeshed in a scandal during the 1980s when he was one of five United States Senators comprising the so-called "Keating Five". Between 1982 and 1987, McCain had received $112,000 in legal In 1987, McCain was one of the five senators whom Keating contacted in order to prevent the government’s seizure of Lincoln, which was by then insolvent and being investigated for making questionable efforts to regain solvency. McCain met twice with federal regulators to discuss the government's investigation of Lincoln. but their 1991 report said that McCain's "actions were not improper nor attended with gross negligence and didn't reach the level of requiring institutional action against him." In his 1992 re-election bid, the Keating Five affair wasn't a major issue, and he won handily, gaining 56 percent of the vote to defeat Democratic community and civil rights activist Claire Sargent and independent former Governor Evan Mecham. During the 1990s, McCain developed a reputation for independence. He took pride in taking on battles against establishment forces, was willing to challenge party leadership, and became hard to categorize politically. The committee's unanimous report stated there was "no compelling evidence that proves that any American remains alive in captivity in Southeast Asia." Helped by McCain's efforts, in 1995 the U.S. normalized diplomatic relations with Vietnam. McCain was vilified by some POW/MIA activists who believed large numbers of Americans were still held against their will in Southeast Asia; they objected to McCain not sharing their belief and his pushing for Vietnam normalization. Starting in 1994, he worked with Democratic Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold on campaign finance reform; The term " Republican" became a label frequently applied to McCain; he's also used the term himself.
   McCain also attacked pork barrel spending within Congress.
   In the 1996 presidential election, McCain was again on the short list of possible vice-presidential picks for Republican nominee Bob Dole.
   In 1997, McCain became chairman of the powerful Senate Commerce Committee; he was criticized for accepting funds from corporations and businesses under the committee's purview, although the bill was still failing repeated attempts to gain cloture. saying he was staging "a fight to take our government back from the power brokers and special interests, and return it to the people and the noble cause of freedom it was created to serve".
   McCain focused on the New Hampshire primary, where his message held appeal to independents. He traveled on a campaign bus called the Straight Talk Express. On February 1, 2000, he won the primary with 49 percent of the vote to Bush's 30 percent. A McCain victory in the crucial South Carolina primary might give his campaign unstoppable momentum; a degree of panic crept into the Bush campaign and the Republican establishment. A variety of interest groups that McCain had challenged in the past now pounded him with negative ads. He also refused to disassociate himself from a veterans activist who accused McCain (in Bush's presence) of having "abandoned the veterans" on POW/MIA and Agent Orange issues.
   Incensed, in part because Bush mobilized the state's evangelical voters The win allowed Bush to regain lost momentum. He made a speech in Virginia Beach that criticized Christian leaders, including Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, as divisive conservatives, McCain lost the Virginia primary on February 29 and nine of the thirteen primaries on Super Tuesday to Bush. With little hope of catching Bush's delegate lead, McCain withdrew from the race on March 9, 2000. He endorsed Bush two months later, and made occasional appearances with Bush during the general election campaign. Later, when Republican Senator Jim Jeffords became an Independent, throwing control of the Senate to the Democrats, McCain defended Jeffords against "self-appointed enforcers of party loyalty". and in years since, about McCain himself possibly leaving the Republican Party. McCain has always adamantly denied that he ever considered doing so. He and then-Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman wrote the legislation that created the 9/11 Commission, while he and Democratic Senator Fritz Hollings co-sponsored the Aviation and Transportation Security Act that federalized airport security.
   In March 2002, McCain-Feingold passed in both Houses of Congress and was signed into law by President Bush.
   Meanwhile, in discussions over proposed U.S. action against Iraq, McCain was a strong supporter of the Bush administration's position. In May 2003, McCain voted against the second round of Bush tax cuts, saying it was unwise at a time of war. the following year, McCain announced that he'd lost confidence in Rumsfeld.
   In October 2003, McCain and Lieberman co-sponsored the Climate Stewardship Act that would have introduced a cap and trade system of greenhouse gases at the 2000 emissions level; the bill was defeated with 55 votes to 43 in the Senate. They reintroduced modified versions of the Act two additional times, most recently in January 2007 with the co-sponsorship of Barack Obama, among others.
   In the 2004 U.S. presidential election, McCain was once again frequently mentioned for the vice-presidential slot, only this time as part of the Democratic ticket under nominee John Kerry. McCain said that Kerry had never formally offered him the position and that he wouldn't have accepted it if he had. At the same time, the Senator defended Kerry's Vietnam war record. By August 2004, McCain had the best favorable-to-unfavorable rating (55 percent to 19 percent) of any national politician.

Fourth Senate term

McCain continued to support appointments of judges who "would strictly interpret the Constitution", adding Supreme Court confirmation votes in favor of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to those he'd previously cast for Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. In May 2005, McCain led the so-called "Gang of 14" in the Senate, which established a compromise that preserved the ability of senators to filibuster judicial nominees, but only in "extraordinary circumstances". The compromise took the steam out of the filibuster movement, but some Republicans remained disappointed that the compromise didn't eliminate filibusters of judicial nominees in all circumstances.
Breaking from his 2001 and 2003 votes, McCain supported the Bush tax cut extension in May 2006, saying not to do so would amount to a tax increase. and twice failed to gain cloture in the Senate. Owing to his time as a POW, McCain has been recognized for his sensitivity to the detention and interrogation of detainees in the War on Terror. On October 3, 2005, McCain introduced the McCain Detainee Amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill for 2005, and the Senate voted 90–9 to support the amendment. It prohibits inhumane treatment of prisoners, including prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, by confining military interrogations to the techniques in the U.S. Army Field Manual on Interrogation. Although Bush had threatened to veto the bill if McCain's amendment was included, the President announced on December 15, 2005 that he accepted McCain's terms and would "make it clear to the world that this government doesn't torture and that we adhere to the international convention of torture, whether it be here at home or abroad".
Meanwhile, McCain continued questioning the progress of the war in Iraq. In September 2005, he remarked upon Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Myers' optimistic outlook on the war's progress: "Things have not gone as well as we'd planned or expected, nor as we were told by you, General Myers." In August 2006, he criticized the administration for continually understating the effectiveness of the insurgency: "We [have] not told the American people how tough and difficult this could be." The strategy's opponents labeled it "McCain's plan" and University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato said, "McCain owns Iraq just as much as Bush does now." as McCain's presidential campaign was underway; faced with the consequences, McCain frequently responded, "I would much rather lose a campaign than a war." In March 2008, McCain credited the surge strategy with reducing violence in Iraq, as he made his eighth trip to that country since the war began.

2008 presidential campaign

   John McCain formally announced he was seeking the presidency of the United States on April 25 2007 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He stated that: "I’m not running for President to be somebody, but to do something; to do the hard but necessary things not the easy and needless things."
   McCain's oft-cited strengths as a presidential candidate for 2008 included national name recognition, sponsorship of major lobbying and campaign finance reform initiatives, leadership in exposing the Abramoff scandal, his well-known military service and experience as a POW, his experience from the 2000 presidential campaign, and an expectation that he'd capture Bush's top fundraisers.
   McCain had fundraising problems in the first half of 2007, due in part to his support for the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, which was unpopular among the Republican base electorate. Large-scale campaign staff downsizing took place in early July, but McCain said he wasn't considering dropping out of the race. McCain subsequently resumed his familiar position as a political underdog, riding the Straight Talk Express and taking advantage of free media such as debates and sponsored events. By December 2007, the Republican race was unsettled, with none of the top-tier candidates dominating the race and all of them possessing major vulnerabilities with different elements of the Republican base electorate. McCain was showing a resurgence, in particular with renewed strength in New Hampshire – the scene of his 2000 triumph – and was bolstered further by the endorsements of The Boston Globe, the Manchester Union-Leader, and almost two dozen other state newspapers, as well as from Independent Democrat Senator Joe Lieberman. All of this paid off when McCain won the New Hampshire primary on January 8, 2008, defeating former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney in a close contest, to once again become one of the front-runners in the race. On January 19, McCain placed first in the South Carolina primary, narrowly defeating former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee. He followed this up with another win a week later in the Florida primary, beating Romney again in a close contest; rival Rudy Giuliani dropped out and endorsed McCain. On February 5, Super Tuesday, McCain won both the majority of states and delegates in the Republican primaries, giving him a commanding lead toward the Republican nomination; Romney departed from the race on February 7. McCain clinched a majority of the delegates and became the presumptive nominee with wins in the Ohio primary and Texas primary on March 4, with the nomination to be made official in September at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
   If he wins the presidency, John McCain’s birth (in Panama) would be the first presidential birth outside the current 50 states. A bipartisan legal review as well as a unanimous Senate resolution indicate that he's nevertheless a natural-born citizen of the United States, a constitutional requirement to become president. Also, if inaugurated in 2009 at age 72 years and 144 days, he'd be the oldest U.S. president upon ascension to the presidency, and the second-oldest president to be inaugurated (Ronald Reagan was 73 years and 350 days old at his second inauguration). McCain has addressed concerns about his age and past health concerns, stating in 2005 that his health was "excellent". He has been treated for a type of skin cancer called melanoma, and an operation in 2000 for that condition left a noticeable mark on the left side of his face. McCain’s prognosis appears favorable, according to independent experts, especially because he's already survived without a recurrence for more than seven years.
   After clinching enough delegates for the nomination, McCain's focus shifted toward the general election while Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton fought a prolonged battle for the Democratic nomination. McCain staged a "biographical tour", introduced various policy proposals, and sought to improve his fundraising.

Political positions

Various interest groups have given Senator McCain scores or grades as to how well his votes align with the positions of the group. The American Conservative Union awarded McCain a lifetime rating of 82 percent through 2007, while McCain has an average lifetime 13 percent "Liberal Quotient" from Americans for Democratic Action through 2007 (see chart for progressions over time). The Almanac of American Politics rates congressional votes as liberal or conservative on the political spectrum, in three policy areas: economic, social, and foreign. For 2005-2006, McCain's average ratings were as follows: the economic rating was 59 percent conservative and 41 percent liberal, the social rating was 54 percent conservative and 38 percent liberal, and the foreign rating was 56 percent conservative and 43 percent liberal. Arizona Republic columnist and RealClearPolitics contributor Robert Robb, using a formulation devised by William F. Buckley, Jr., describes McCain as "conservative" but not "a conservative", meaning that while McCain usually tends towards conservative positions, he isn't "anchored by the philosophical tenets of modern American conservatism".
The two political issues that voters have been most concerned about in 2008 are the economy and Iraq. On the economy, McCain would make the Bush tax cuts permanent instead of letting them expire, he'd eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax so as to assist the middle-class, he'd double the personal exemption for dependents, reduce the corporate tax rate, and offer a new research and development tax credit. At the same time, he pledges to eliminate pork-barrel spending, freeze nondefense discretionary spending for a year or more, and reduce Medicare growth.
From the late 1990s until 2008, McCain was a board member of Project Vote Smart (PVS) which was set up by Richard Kimball, his 1986 Senate opponent. PVS provides non-partisan information about the political positions of McCain and other candidates for political office. Additionally, McCain uses his Senate web site, and his 2008 campaign web site, to describe his political positions.

Cultural and political image

John McCain's personal character has been a dominant feature of his public image. This image includes the military service of both himself and his family, his maverick political persona, his temper, and his devotion to his large blended family.
   McCain’s political appeal has been more nonpartisan and less ideological compared to many other national politicians. His stature and reputation stem partly from his service in the Vietnam War. He also carries physical vestiges of his war wounds, as well as his melanoma surgery; when campaigning he quips, "I am older than dirt and have more scars than Frankenstein."
   While considering himself to be a straight-talking public servant, McCain acknowledges being impatient. Other traits include a penchant for lucky charms, a fondness for hiking, and a sense of humor that has sometimes backfired spectacularly, as when he made a joke in 1998 about the Clintons that wasn't fit to print in newspapers. McCain hasn't shied away from addressing his shortcomings, and apologizing for them. He is known for sometimes being prickly and hot-tempered with Senate colleagues, but his relations with his own Senate staff have been more cordial, and have inspired loyalty towards him.
   Regarding his temper, or what might be viewed as passionate conviction, McCain acknowledges it while also saying that the stories have been exaggerated. and McCain has employed both profanity and shouting and Senator Joseph Lieberman has made this observation: "It isn't the kind of anger that's a loss of control. He is a very controlled person." has expressed much greater concern about a McCain presidency: "He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."
   All of John McCain's family members are on good terms with him, McCain's father battled alcoholism, and his wife battled addiction to painkillers; their efforts at self-improvement have become part of McCain’s family tradition as well. His family's military tradition extends to the latest generation: son John Sidney IV ("Jack") is enrolled in the U.S. Naval Academy, and son Doug flew jets in the Navy.

Writings by McCain

Hard Call: Great Decisions and the Extraordinary People Who Made Them by John McCain, Mark Salter (Hachette, August 2007) ISBN 978-0-446-58040-3
by John McCain, Mark Salter (Random House, October 2005) ISBN 1-4000-6412-0
Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life by John McCain, Mark Salter (Random House, April 2004) ISBN 1-4000-6030-3
Odysseus in America by Jonathan Shay, Max Cleland, John S. McCain (Scribner, November 2002) ISBN 0-7432-1156-1
Worth the Fighting For by John McCain, Mark Salter (Random House, September 2002) ISBN 0-375-50542-3
Unfinished Business: Afghanistan, the Middle East and Beyond — Defusing the Dangers That Threaten America's Security by Harlan Ullman, John S. McCain (Citadel Press, June 2002) ISBN 0-8065-2431-6
Faith of My Fathers by John McCain, Mark Salter (Random House, August 1999) ISBN 0-375-50191-6 (later made into the 2005 television film Faith of My Fathers)
"An Enduring Peace Built on Freedom: Securing America's Future" by John McCain Foreign Affairs, November/December 2007
"How the POW's Fought Back", by John S. McCain III, Lieut. Commander, U.S. Navy, U.S. News and World Report, May 14, 1973 (reprinted for web under different title in 2008). Reprinted in Reporting Vietnam, Part Two: American Journalism 1969–1975 (The Library of America, 1998) ISBN 1883011590
Foreword by John McCain to Popular Mechanics' Debunking 9/11 Myths, May 2006
Speeches of John McCain, 1988-2000.

Footnotes

References and further reading

Alexander, Paul. Man of the People: The Life of John McCain (John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey 2002). ISBN 0-471-22829-X. Available online in limited preview at Google Books

Brock, David and Waldman, Paul. Free Ride: John McCain and the Media (Anchor Books 2008). ISBN 0307279405.

Drew, Elizabeth. “Citizen McCain” (Simon & Schuster 2002). ISBN 978-0743230025.

Feinberg, Barbara. John McCain: Serving His Country (Millbrook Press 2000). ISBN 0761319743.

Hubbell, John G. P.O.W.: A Definitive History of the American Prisoner-Of-War Experience in Vietnam, 1964–1973 (Reader's Digest Press, New York 1976). ISBN 0883490919.

Karaagac, John. John McCain: An Essay in Military and Political History (Lexington Books 2000). ISBN 0739101714.

McCain, John and Salter, Mark, Faith of My Fathers (Random House, New York 1999). ISBN 0-375-50191-6.

McCain, John and Salter, Mark. Worth the Fighting For (Random House, New York 2002). ISBN 0-375-50542-3.

Rochester, Stuart I. and Kiley, Frederick. Honor Bound: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1961–1973 (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland 1999). ISBN 1557506949.

Schecter, Cliff. The Real McCain: Why Conservatives Don't Trust Him and Why Independents Shouldn't (PoliPoint Press 2008). ISBN 0-979-48229-1.

Timberg, Robert. John McCain: An American Odyssey (Touchstone Books, New York 1999). ISBN 0-684-86794-X. Online access to Chapter 1

is available.

Timberg, Robert. The Nightingale's Song (Simon & Schuster, New York 1996). ISBN 0-684-80301-1. Online access to a portion of Chapter 1

is available.

Welch, Matt. “McCain: The Myth of a Maverick” (Palgrave Macmillan 2007). ISBN 978-0230603967.Further Information

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