Yes! Being a POW in and of itself does not make one a hero, but when he had the opportunity to get out and chose to stay, that was heroism. Now I've said it before and I'll write it again, he's made a career out of that. He has been given a permanent hall pass for that, which I don't particularly agree with. Politics aside for the moment, yes he is a hero and one tough S.O.B.
IMHO, lack of cowardice is NOT heroism. McCain's father was Commander of U.S. Forces in the Pacific. (CINCPAC) He was the top dog and a mean S.O.B. Would you have wanted a free pass out of prison camp only to then face your father with the consequences for him and your family? He was doing his duty to his family, and his duty under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which called for him to support his fellow prisoners. Was that heroism? I really don't think so. He was doing what was expected of him. No more, no less. Now, the 50,000 men and women who died. They're the heros.
He said, "She works with her hands and (KNOWS) " then McCain paused, and finished his sentence. So his timing was not so good. I think his vp pick Sarah did him no justice with her speech. I am not christian or religious, but for people who think she was a hit with the christian right women, (which is why McCain picked her to gain thier vote) even they must have seen her mean spiritedness and ego driven speech which is opposite of everything the christians preach about.
I'm a Buchananite. and I don't share your assessment at all. McCain has not made a single statement during this campaign that I consider hawkish. I'm not talking about campaign rally rhetoric but actual policy specific. Even tonight his statement on Georgia just said âsolidarity and prayerâ. Not single code word that could be construed combative. He was a tepid supporter of Iraq and just the fact he picked Palin who is a Buchananite makes me think a McCain admin is looking to deemphasize ground wars. Taking out an Irani nuclear facility doesn't require troops. With Obama my trader sense tells me something different. He insists on increased troop levels in Afghanistan and he's made statements both in 2004 and 2007 threatening the bombing of Pakistan beyond the Afghan border if he felt Musharuff was letting Al Queda across. Well now Musharuff is gone and a far less friendly Islamo-facist element pervades both the Pakistani government and it's military. This is a situation for steady hands. IMO any escalation of troops in Afghanistan could be a catalyst for skirmishes with Pakistan. There's no telling where a suicide jihadist will fire a nuke. I think Obama is closer to igniting that powder keg than McCain. Obama sure didn't send out any peace signals by selecting just another Dem Senator who voted for Iraq as a running mate.
I don't know whether McCain is a hero or not - that's a legitimate question for debate. But I would never willingly allow anyone to denigrate him on a personal basis, as I believe very few of us can relate to the terrible experience he went through as a POW in Vietnam. Having said that, I do not think he's the best choice to serve as POTUS, and there are a lot of things I do not respect about him or his policy positions. But I will never have anything but respect for his military service. People, whether left, right, center or whatever they may be, should NEVER stoop to Ann Coulter's level, and that's what one would be doing to minimize the pain John McCain surely went through over a very long period of time in a Vietnamese Prison.
I'm a supporter of Laissez-faire, maybe a little close to anarcho-capitalism and do not exactly consider myself a leftist... I trained and competed in martial arts for close to 20 years, a more than half of that time as an instructor - and I don't consider myself a coward, but neither a hero. I have several times gone between aggressive strangers fighting or beating women without any hesitation, but do not thing that amounts to heroism at all. As a bouncer I disarmed threatening guests with guns. I have created 5 businesses, consolidated some, sold out 4 months before the dot-com bust unravelled and "retired" in 1999 from IT - moved to Brazil and am still in my mid 30s. I used to recruit people to work for me using MBTI analysis, and overall think I'm a pretty good judge of character. I am pretty unapologetic about who I am, but keep my friends close - in fact I made more than a dozen of my friends and partners millionaires when I sold my main IT business. All of my close friends are not at all "leftist", although some are a bit more conservative and "right-wing" than me. Well, I don't see how I qualify as "leftist"... but I know how to think on my own and form my opinion using reason and seeking out balanced comprehensive knowledge. I absolutely detest "partyism" - clueless worshippers and followers who can't assemble two thoughts together on their own, need to confer with books before they can answer what they think. I throw out people from meetings when they don't contribute to project meetings other than just nodding - although I much prefer agile methods like Scrum to traditional project methodologies. ...and I still don't consider John McCain a hero - by any standard. He was afraid of his father and the shame he was facing after being broken by his captors - period - and that reflects in how he turned out later in life - the "maverick" he is today. He has indeed made an career out of people getting emotional and feeling sorry for him.
No, they need to focus more on the easier target, John McCain, who also happens to be the Presidential candidate.