So now that the South Carolina GOP has started running an ad for McCain that talks about NOTHING BUT his P.O.W. experience (via TPM), it's becoming obvious that this is McCain's only selling point and that the GOP knows this is the only way he can get elected.
Which means that it's now OK to freely debate whether the fact that someone was a prisoner of war 40 years ago is qualification enough, in and of itself, to be elected President of the United States.
Here's the transcript of the ad:
The 30-second says this:
"This is the story of a John McCain home you might not know about.
During a combat mission over Vietnam, John McCain was shot down and severely injured. John McCain’s new home for the next five-and-a-half-years would be an enemy prison cell.
This is where John McCain was starved, beaten, tortured, and maimed for life.
So the next time Barack Obama talks about one of John McCain’s homes, remember this one.
Paid for by the South Carolina Republican Party, and not authorized by any candidate."
So that's it. No other qualifications for the Presidency are even mentioned or debated. Simply being a POW 40 years ago is it.
Since that's the case, since the GOP has now made being a POW a political issue, McCain has become another kind of POW...."Politician of War."
He has politicized his POW status by repeatedly invoking it to deflect any type of criticism or challenge, and the GOP has politicized it as his main (apparently only) qualification to be President. His wartime experience is now his political resume.
So whenever you hear he's a POW, jsut remember it means ...."Politician of War."