The Swift Boat is poised to leave the dock, with Republicans like former Rep. "B-1 Bob" Dornan (R-CA) and Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH) among those signed on with the crew.
To hear his critics tell it, John "Maverick" McCain enjoyed a George Bushian existence in the U.S. Navy: "The spoiled son of military privilege got a free ride throughout his military career despite repeated instances of sex scandals and screw-ups." He was fifth from the bottom of his class, and managed to crash both five planes and every party in sight. "[N]o doubt because of the influence of his family of famous Admirals, McCain was leap-frogged ahead of more qualified applicants and granted a coveted slot to be trained as a navy pilot." But things really went south in 'Nam, as the videos below the fold explain:
The Manchurian Candidate?
For those of you who don't have the seven minutes to listen to the video, highlights include credible allegations that McCain single-handedly extinguished the Truth Accountability Bill (H.R. 3603) -- which passed the House by a vote of 401-0 -- because he collaborated with the enemy [see time line here] during his stay in the Hanoi Hilton, and didn't want the truth to come out about his activities. Our hero Johnny is alleged to have been given special treatment there, and "made over 32 tapes of propaganda for the Vietnamese government."
While it is true that McCain had an opportunity to come home early, as Rep. Dornan points out, if he had taken the offer, it would have ended his career. Dornan further alleges that McCain threatened the Vietnamese, claiming that he said that if they ever released any of their records on him, they would never get diplomatic recognition.
A shorter (four-minute) version is here:
Although this hasn't exactly been a state secret, it has been below the radar for a while. However, given the renewed scrutiny of McCain in the media, this might cause a few intrepid reporters to go looking ... and the GOP, to reach for the Preparation H (err, that's Mike Huckabee, you dirty-minded heathen!).