Dispelling Internet Rumors About John McCain

[DesertFox]

James H. Warner
FrontPageMagazine
5 Feb 08

Recently, I have seen several allegations that condemn Senator John McCain for his behavior as a prisoner of war. I believe that these allegations are false. I am in a better position than the Senator’s accusers to know the truth since I was a prisoner with him, having been captured a little over a month before him. I have contacted hundreds of my comrades on our e-mail list and not one of them can confirm anything that has been alleged against McCain.

Let me tell you what they have told me and what I saw myself, and answer some of the charges. First, I should say that I have great respect for Senator McCain, even though I am at odds with him on many issues and have remained distant from his campaign. I say this up front because I think that a defense mounted by one of his supporters would be less credible.

The first allegation is that the Soviets directed our interrogations and that John McCain gave up valuable intelligence during his interrogations. We doubt this. The Communists were not very skilled at keeping secrets from us and to my knowledge only one man saw someone whom he could identify as a Russian in any camp – a female “journalist’ who claimed to have been wounded as a tank commander in WWII. When the prisoner she was interviewing demanded that she show him her scars she knocked him off of his stool.

Everyone, when interrogated under torture, lied to the interrogators. Surely Soviet intelligence knew, as should any intelligent being, that there are no swimming pools on the decks of American aircraft carriers. Yet this lie was told and believed. One man was beaten for refusing to tell where the Navy keeps pigs and chickens on an aircraft carrier. Surely Soviet military intelligence knew that our ships have refrigeration and do not need to carry livestock. There are countless other such stories which cast doubt on the participation of the Soviets.

In any case, McCain was only a pilot. I cannot think of any tactical information which a Navy pilot could have which would be of any value to an enemy who lacked the capacity to attack an aircraft carrier. Nor can I think of much strategic information which any sensible person would give to a pilot who might be shot down and captured.

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[DesertFox]

Dude's credible. I still don't see McCain as any hero, but he certainly kept faith with his fellow prisoners.

[DeclinetoState]

Internet rumors about McCain's voting record while in the Senate seem to be pretty accurate, however.

[ThomasMore]

Good post, Fox.

I DESPISE McCain. But I don't want people to harbor false information about him, and I have already heard plenty of it.

There are plenty of good reasons to distrust the man, without getting caught up in libels against him.

[TheIrishman]

What could he tell them about an aircraft that isn't already published in Janes???

[DesertFox]

He could tell them about improvements in that aircraft that weren't yet known about by Janes. He could tell them about armaments he may have had that he wasn't supposed to have had, and the presence of which would have had the DBM screeching and the sheeple appropriately appalled.

[Bluemoon_Rising]

McCain refused to come out of his cell to meet Jane Fonda on her shoot-'em-down tour and was beaten for it.

[Suzie]

McCain refused to come out of his cell to meet Jane Fonda on her shoot-'em-down tour and was beaten for it.

:claps: Good for McCain.

[Maggie_T]

The only rumor about McCain that NEEDS to be dispelled is the one that circulates about his being a Republican. :whistle:

[Maggie_T]

:claps: Good for McCain.

Yeah. Thank you for the crumbs from your table, Senator. You almost had me going there. :rolleyes:

[Suzie]

Would you prefer that he met with her and gave her a big kiss? Just giving credit where it's due.

[DeclinetoState]

McCain refused to come out of his cell to meet Jane Fonda on her shoot-'em-down tour and was beaten for it.I would like for Jane to kiss me someday. Of course, I'd have to bend over and drop trou first.

[maxparrish]

The only rumor I heard is that he is a conservative...but that is only a rumor.

[maxparrish]

Would you prefer that he met with her and gave her a big kiss? Just giving credit where it's due.
That public honor is due and paid, beginning some 33 years ago. His honorable record as a POW has been lauded by supporters repeatedly over three decades, almost as often as that the real phoney John Kerry (who McCain thinks make a fine President).

THAT John McCain got elected to the Senate and compiled an 82% ACU record, that is not the McCain of the last 8 or 9 years who is now the 4th most liberal Republican.

The young McCain is a thing of the past. THAT John McCain is not the one who nearly jumped with Jeffords over to the Democrats. THAT John McCain was not the one who, in 2000, suggested that the best minds he would call into a foriegn policy planning if he were President would ALL be liberals (the Kerry's etc.).

The fools who voted for him, voted for a younger man that died long ago...and for a hero that has stained his honor with lies and disembling for over a decade. He is no more worthy of current adoration than Duke Cunningham, another hero that dishonored his fellow conservatives.

I'm fed up with the glorification of John McCain of 1972, to justify the evil of the John McCain of 2008.

[Suzie]

Doesn't change the fact that he was right for not meeting with her. That happened back then... not now.

[Maggie_T]

Would you prefer that he met with her and gave her a big kiss?

Not necessary. He already did that with Ted Kennedy. Regardless of the fact that she is a traitor, one must admit that Jane Fonda's then young ass was a lot better looking that Ted Kennedy's big fat ass now.


Just giving credit where it's due.

(shrug) Knock yourself out, honey. That was then. Since that time, McCain peed on the 1st Amendment and kissed Ted Hic! Kennedy's ass, just to name two things. But have it your way.

[maxparrish]

Mags, some people just can't let go.

[Longhorn_Platinum]

maxparrish:
Mags, some people just can't let go.

:rolleyes:

[Maggie_T]

Moo, I know that your opinion of me must be somewhere in the basement lately, and that breaks my heart.

But the reason why I won't vote for McCain is because - in my book - HE IS NOT A CONSERVATIVE, and therefore, will be as damaging to this country as a demonrat. In fact, even worse because he is a turncoat.

I've always said it, and I'll confirm it now. I have more respect (for lack of a better word) for a genuine Marxist than I have for a turncoat, a megalomanical opportunist like McCain.

McCain is NOT a conservative. And I only vote for conservatives. I'll certainly hold my nose and vote for the Huckster, if he gets the nomination. He is the lesser of two evils. McCain IS evil. I won't vote for him.

[DesertFox]

Nobody is promoting the "adoration" or "glorification" of John McCain. Some of us ARE promoting that the truth be told about him, good and bad, rather than all of one or the other.

A number of folks on here, unfortunately, want to see the world all-white or all-black, which is how liberals see things. I detest John McCain and will not vote rather than vote for him; but that doesn't mean he sold out his fellow POW's because he didn't. It doesn't mean he suckered for Hanoi Jane, because he didn't.

I don't understand how adults can refuse to recognize the good AND the bad in people. It's true of all of us that we are an amalgam of good and bad. None of us is stainless.

We need to see the world as it is, not in these great sweeping generalities that simply refuse to let facts in.

[Suzie]

Nobody is promoting the "adoration" or "glorification" of John McCain. Some of us ARE promoting that the truth be told about him, good and bad, rather than all of one or the other.

:claps: That is right.

[Maggie_T]

Sorry. When I find something good about McCain, I'll let you know.

And DON'T harp about his war heroism, I IMPLORE you. I've already spoken extensively about that, and I don't like to repeat myself.

[Maggie_T]

I detest John McCain and will not vote rather than vote for him; but that doesn't mean he sold out his fellow POW's because he didn't. It doesn't mean he suckered for Hanoi Jane, because he didn't.

Well, don't look at me because I never said he suckered to Hanoi Jane. I just said he suckered to Ted Kennedy. If you can give me proof of my mistake, I'll be glad to hear it.

I don't understand how adults can refuse to recognize the good AND the bad in people. It's true of all of us that we are an amalgam of good and bad. None of us is stainless.

(OMG, this is becoming really exhausting). Fox, I never implied any of the above. But I also have a problem understanding how people who go nuts over the desacration of the Constitution at the hands of dems, and who go balistic about activist judges, and abortion on demand, all of a sudden become so pig-headed and bloody well refuse to see the dangers of electing someone as self-serving as McCain.

I may see only the bad in that bastard. But you can't deny that there are some people who will see the "good" and ONLY the "good" in him. Not if you are in any way concerned with fairness.

We need to see the world as it is, not in these great sweeping generalities that simply refuse to let facts in.

Exactly. A shock course on reality would do some people so much good. :whistle:

[Bluemoon_Rising]

Nobody is promoting the "adoration" or "glorification" of John McCain. Some of us ARE promoting that the truth be told about him, good and bad, rather than all of one or the other.

A number of folks on here, unfortunately, want to see the world all-white or all-black, which is how liberals see things. I detest John McCain and will not vote rather than vote for him; but that doesn't mean he sold out his fellow POW's because he didn't. It doesn't mean he suckered for Hanoi Jane, because he didn't.

I don't understand how adults can refuse to recognize the good AND the bad in people. It's true of all of us that we are an amalgam of good and bad. None of us is stainless.

We need to see the world as it is, not in these great sweeping generalities that simply refuse to let facts in.

Exactly. Beyond classical liberalism, conservativism is honor, truth and common sense or it's nothing at all.

[DesertFox]

Mags, you're not talking about me. I've been against McCain from Day One and will NOT vote rather than vote for him.

McCain IS dangerous for the country. Prollem is, so is every other possibility. They are ALL dangerous for America. THAT is why I won't vote.

None of which changes that he behaved honorably during a difficult and lengthy captivity. I've also argued repeatedly that that does not make him a hero.

[Bluemoon_Rising]

The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning your way.

[PrezLeefun]

I think Ann Coulter made an excellent point about McCain POW status here..... http://www.townhall.com/blog/g/b9769a28-f1fa-4ee9-af17-c9955af1a2e5

[TheIrishman]

“Looking forward to the next presidency, we see that Justice Stevens is 87, Justice Ginsburg 74, Justices Kennedy and Scalia 71, Justice Breyer 69 and Justice Souter 68. Perhaps all will be sitting in January 2013. Perhaps all will be retired. Voters who care about the Supreme Court ought to assume that the next president will have an impact on the future course of the Supreme Court greater than any president in modern times. The Court of course affects every aspect of American life, from the conduct of the war to the protection of the unborn, the right to worship and speak freely, the right to bear arms and the right to be free from intrusive governmental oversight. The Court can chose to protect private property or, as has been the case for decades, almost completely ignore this foundational right. The Court is the country’s future in many respects, and the president is the keeper of the court.” —Hugh Hewitt

[DesertFox]

Ann Coulter made an excellent point about McCain POW status hereMy puter has no speakers. What did she say?

[PrezLeefun]

She said that even though he was POW he is still liberal. And surely there are other POWs who are conservative, who would have made better decisions and who are a better choice for POTUS.


I am very loosely paraphrasing of course.

[DesertFox]

She hit the nail squarely on the head.

[Jack_Savage]

Dude's credible. I still don't see McCain as any hero, but he certainly kept faith with his fellow prisoners.


There are alligations that he recieved better medical treatment because of cooperating with his interrogations. I don't hold that against him if true, but I do hold it against him to use his experience as a POW to declare that harsh interrogation methods don't work. To say torture doesn't work. Whatever was done to him, if he had vital secrets you can bet he would have recieved what ever it took to get the information. And we should do the same in the war waged against us. Especially against those who are now beheading our troops.

There are many critics of McCain who say he hasn't come clean with what happened to him. I don't blame him for that. But if he wants to use his experience as a POW to effect our strategy, and obstruct the President, then he should come forth with everything that happened to him.

We know waterboarding works since we have done it. To say if we use harsh techniques will only make the enemy respond in kind is more than stupid since we know the kind of methods Al-Quida, Hamas, and others have used since the beginning of time that do work.

[DesertFox]

I don't see that anything you said responds to anything I said, or anything else in this thread.

There are alligations that he recieved better medical treatment because of cooperating with his interrogations. I don't hold that against him if true, but I do hold it against him to use his experience as a POW to declare that harsh interrogation methods don't work. To say torture doesn't work. Whatever was done to him, if he had vital secrets you can bet he would have recieved what ever it took to get the information. And we should do the same in the war waged against us. Especially against those who are now beheading our troops. None of which has anything to do with anything I said.

There are many critics of McCain who say he hasn't come clean with what happened to him. I don't blame him for that. But if he wants to use his experience as a POW to effect our strategy, and obstruct the President, then he should come forth with everything that happened to him. You're presuming that those allegations are true and that McCain hasn't already come forth with everything that happened to him. What if he has already said all there is to say, but somebody keeps coming back at him about his prisoner time? What does he do then? Keep going back over the same stuff again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again? or again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again?

Get it?

We know waterboarding works since we have done it. To say if we use harsh techniques will only make the enemy respond in kind is more than stupid since we know the kind of methods Al-Quida, Hamas, and others have used since the beginning of time that do work. I don't recall saying a single thing in this thread about waterboarding or torture.

[Maggie_T]

She said that even though he was POW he is still liberal. And surely there are other POWs who are conservative, who would have made better decisions and who are a better choice for POTUS.


She hit the nail squarely on the head.--DesertFox

So did I! I've been saying that till I've gone blue in the bloody face! :hissyfit:

Just because I'm not Ann Coulter doesn't mean I didn't say it first. :sulk: