The whole John McCain "War Hero" saga was epic and all. But, I could always see what was really lurking underneath that chest full of war medals on the good soldier all along.
Why, or how, could a horribly tortured, former POW possibly think THIS is funny?
McCain is prideful and ambitious.
Not a problem.
Proving yourself to be shamelessly opportunistic is a problem John McCain has shown he has over and over again. This, apparently, his definition of "Country First".
Didn't he make a deal with Bush and Cheney after he lost that nasty primary fight for the Republican Presidential Nomination to G.W. Bush in 2000, for their promise to help him campaign for, and secure, the GOP Presidential Nomination in 2008?
The smear
The South Carolina Republican Party has long been the putrid petri dish of right-wing sleaze, and in the 2000 GOP primary, the slime oozed from Team Bush all over John McCain and his family. South Carolina became Ground Zero for the Republican presidential nomination after John McCain stunned George W. Bush in New Hampshire, beating him by 19 percent.
We show our character in defeat, and in response to the humiliation of New Hampshire, George W. Bush's true character emerged. He went hard right and he went down and dirty. Suddenly whisper campaigns sprouted up like kudzu all across the Palmetto State:
* McCain is crazy. Here's how the Dallas Morning News reported the rumors: "In recent weeks, the Bush campaign has been accused of — and has denied — spreading rumors that Mr. McCain may be unstable as a result of being tortured while a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. Several Senate Republicans, among them party leaders who favor Mr. Bush for president, have been identified in published reports as being responsible for privately pushing the allegations. Also, James B. Stockdale, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam who ran as Ross Perot's running mate in 1992, said he got a call from a friend close to the Bush campaign soliciting comments on Mr. McCain's 'weakness.' "
* McCain is "the fag candidate." This gem came from push-polling, a despicable tactic wherein a voter is called by someone pretending to be a pollster but who is in fact spreading dirt. Anonymous push-pollers called South Carolina Republicans and described McCain as "the fag candidate" — perhaps because he met with the pro-gay-rights Log Cabin Republicans.
* McCain's wife is a drug addict. Cindy McCain, like millions of Americans, from the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist to radio gasbag Rush Limbaugh, had been treated for dependency on prescription drugs. Rather than saluting her courage and recovery, leaflets surfaced in South Carolina calling Mrs. McCain "a drug addict."
* McCain abandoned his "crippled first wife." Carol Shepp, McCain's first wife, was badly injured in a 1969 auto accident while McCain was a POW. Seven years after he returned from Vietnam, McCain's marriage to Carol fell apart. McCain has accepted responsibility for the marriage's failure, but it was hardly fair to say McCain "abandoned" Carol, or that Carol was "crippled." Like half of all marriages, this one did not work out.
* McCain fathered children out of wedlock. Richard Hand, a professor at the racist, anti-Catholic Bob Jones University, wrote a now-infamous e-mail in which he alleged that McCain "chose to sire children without marriage." When Hand was told on CNN that there was no evidence that his charge was true, he replied, "That's a universal negative. Can you prove that?"
* McCain's dark-skinned, adopted daughter was the product of a McCain extramarital affair. This was the worst. Anonymous callers alleged that McCain had fathered "a black baby" with a prostitute. In truth, Cindy McCain had brought a dark-skinned baby home from Mother Teresa's orphanage in Bangladesh. She and John adopted her and named her Bridget. In 2006, Bridget Googled her name and learned of how she'd been smeared when her father had been losing to George W. Bush. A teenager today, she is still owed an apology that will never come.
McCain and Bush "hugged it out" and, McCain dutifully forgave Bush for implying that he was a, ahem, to put it delicately, a lover of Black People.
Then, there's that Sarah Palin thing just because of what happened with Hillary and Obama.
Oh! And, when the opportunity presented itself again, John McCain showed that deeply embedded, opportunistic streak of his again, by declaring that he had never really considered himself a "Maverick" before. Even though he had proudly worn that mantle for many, many years.
That wasn't a memory lapse due to John McCain's age, and you're not confused or crazy. McCain was, once again, responding to that loud knocking sound in his head.
Wow! The real John McCain is finally standing up for what he truly believes in.
And, for John McCain, there's great opportunity in doing that, as well.