Ok, I know this is not related to any topic that's under discussion today but I need some help and guidance in finding out some information that I think might be a very valid political topic right now. The answers I believe will give us even more insight into what we can expect out of John McCain. (by the way, I understand this doesn't meet all the qualifications for a full diary but I tried posting this in an open thread and it was completely ignored)
I tried Google to find the answers but came up with nothing.
Here's the question. What became of the lives of the 4 men that finished lower than John McCain at the Naval Academy. I'm assuming none of them had the built-in advantages of an admiral for a father and a beer heiress for a stepping stone into politics.
They probably were similar in temperament to McCain since there are generally scholastic requirements to get into the Naval Academy that pretty much prevents intellectual zeroes from competing. My guess is to finish near the bottom, the problem lies not in IQ but in dedication and discipline. Problems in those areas could very easily have caused the men at the bottom of that list to have very rocky and disastrous lives. Some could have gone beyond expectations. Either way it'd be a wonderful human interest story.
Where do we find the list of names of that graduating class and is there any info on those men? If someone can point me in the right direction I'll update this with any information I find or write a new diary about it. I have the feeling the info might be fascinating.
Update #1:
We now have the link to the Class of 58 USNA Web Page and there's a wealth of information on it. Unfortunately not the class standings though. The full class roster however is there with a simple password you can find in the comments below. Interestingly there are addresses and phone numbers for most on there. I'm sure these people have been called a few times by pesky reporters and tabloid types looking for dirt and juice on McCain.
Update #2:
It was pointed out (rather sternly) that this sounded like a blogswarm to harass the people on the class roster. That is not my intention at all and it would be rude to do so. It is fascinating reading though and it's a public site with a great deal of insight into the people that surrounded John McCain during his time at the Naval Academy. There's also quite an extensive list of the people in that class that are deceased. That gives one a chill knowing Sarah Palin would be the replacement should John join them.