Yesterday I was canvassing my neighborhood in Albuquerque and spoke to a decorated, purple heart veteran of the Korean War. He raised a point about McCain that I have not heard mentioned before, that might point to a real weakness.
He invited me in and proceeded to tell me the story of a friend of his who had fought against the Chinese in Korea. His unit had lost all but six of its men in fierce fighting, when the Chinese asked them to surrender. They chose "no", and went on to fight until the last man had died.
He then told me that he had been having a beer at a bar with another Korean War vet, watching John McCain on TV accusing the Democrats of wanting to surrender in Iraq. He turned to his friend and asked, "You were in Korea, did you surrender?"
"Nope" his friend said. "Well then, where the hell does John McCain get off accusing Democrats of wanting to surrender in Iraq, when that is exactly what he did, giving himself up to the Vietnamese rather than fighting on?"
I have not heard anyone raise this point. It would be tough to raise, without appearing disrespectful of his service. But it is a damn good question.