McCain Musings On Memorial Day Weekend
When the “John
McCain for President, 2008” campaign shifts into
high gear, we`ll be hearing ad nauseum about the
candidate`s heroism, character and patriotism.
Too bad none of it is true.
America could use a
heroic figure with a high moral code and a true love
of country. But
McCain is far from that man.
When you do a simple analysis of
McCain`s personal and professional life and lay it
out over thirty years, his picture is ugly.
Think of my column as a review of
McCain low points that you will be hearing less
about—at least from the GOP—as the countdown to the
2008 presidential primaries begins.
Heroism
McCain is a sore point among other
U.S. POWs. Most resent the preferential medical
treatment McCain received after he was shot down in 1967
and revealed to the North Vietnamese Army that his
father, Admiral John McCain, Jr., commanded all U.S.
forces in Europe and was soon-to-be commander of all
forces in the Pacific, including Vietnam.
From the moment the NVA knew who the injured McCain`s father
was, he became a “special patient.” The NVA hoped
to eventually squeeze valuable information out of
McCain.
And his fellow POWs remained angry with McCain when, in
1992 as a member of the Senate Select Committee on
POW/MIA Affairs, he demanded a U.S. Justice Department
investigation into
Vietnam veteran activists and their organizations.
McCain called the organized POW`s:
“The most craven,
most cynical and most despicable human beings to ever
run a scam.”
McCain got his wish. The DOJ investigated and found no
reason to charge the POW/MIA organizations with any
wrongdoing. [Sen.
McCain Wants To Be President By Ted Sampley,
U.S. Veteran Dispatch, January-February 1997 Issue]
Character
In 1980, McCain divorced his wife Carol, who had been
disfigured in an automobile accident while he
imprisoned. One month later, McCain remarried Cindy Lou
Hensley, heiress to Phoenix-based Hensley & Co., the
nation`s second-largest Anheuser-Busch distributor.
His new trophy wife`s family money launched
McCain into politics.
Then, ten years after his ugly divorce,
McCain was fingered as one of the Keating Five—a
group of five Senators investigated on ethics charges.
The five met with Federal Home Loan Bank chairman Ed
Grey allegedly to influence the FHLB to delay seizing
the assets of soon-to-be convicted racketeer Charles
Keating`s struggling (and eventually bankrupt) Lincoln
Savings and Loan.
Although McCain was never indicted, an investigation
revealed that his Congressional and Senate campaigns had
been financed in part by donations from Keating.
Additionally, McCain took a total of nine family trips
paid for by Keating including three to the banker`s
villa in the Bahamas.
The federal bail out of Lincoln
cost taxpayers $2.6 billion.
Patriotism
Now McCain has become one of the authors of the
least patriotic bill in American history,
S. 2611, which the U.S. Senate voted on May 25th.
Unable to refrain from
insulting Americans worried about the devastating
impact of S. 2611, McCain immediately after the vote
said:
“Why not say to those
undocumented workers who are working the
jobs that the rest of us refuse,
`come out from the shadows.`”
Amazing—three lies in one sentence: “undocumented
workers,” “jobs that the rest of us refuse,”
and “come out of the shadows.”
And another McCain lie:
“In poll after
poll after poll, Americans support earned citizenship
and a comprehensive solution”
[Immigration
Foreshadows 2008 GOP Contest, by Liz Sidoti,
Associated Press, May 25, 2006]
The truth, to which McCain is averse, is that no polls
indicate anything of the kind. Given a neutral choice
that avoids the words “amnesty” and “illegal
alien,” voters
chose the House approach, HR 4437, to S. 2611 by
2-1.
(Read
Steve Sailer`s excellent column on polls
here.)
In all,
McCain`s record is dismal.
Given
McCain`s resume, it`s fair to ask whom he represents
and where we can see evidence of his principles at work.
McCain does not
represent:
-
Arizona voters who are fed up with illegal
immigration as they demonstrated when they passed
Proposition 200.
-
Vietnam veterans and fellow POWs.
- Americans who
adhere to family values
- Scrupulous
businessmen, investors and politicians who would
never consider taking nine junkets funded by a
special interest donor.
- Fellow Navy
officers.
I asked Henry Lenoir
for insight into McCain`s real self. Lenoir is the
ex-fighter pilot who
wrote to VDARE.COM that McCain would be a “disaster”
as president.
Said Lenoir:
“McCain`s Hanoi
experiences provide effective cover for his political
ambitions. People don`t see that there isn`t much behind
the image. People also assume, based on his
Vietnam service and his party affiliation, that he
is a red-blooded American patriot. As for me, I wonder
if he and President Bush share a Mexican paymaster.”
McCain has
consistently and knowingly done the wrong thing to those
closest to him…his family, his constituents and his war
buddies.
And he has knowingly
and without fail acted in the best interests of only one
person…Senator John McCain.
Joe Guzzardi [email
him], an instructor in English at the Lodi
Adult School, has been writing a weekly newspaper column
since 1988. This column is exclusive to VDARE.COM.


