Word: pow
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Shakespeare wrote, to covet honor, then McCain might be the most sinful politician alive. His 50 years of nearly continuous service to his country - in the Navy, as a POW and in Congress - have been a tumultuous and often inspiring saga of a man and his code. McCain languished in prison in Hanoi for years rather than accept a release he considered dishonorable, and he has made his mark in Washington as a kind of honor politician, a crusader who has chosen his battles on the basis of morality rather than ideology. Fighting to limit the influence of money...
...College. McCain's Vietnam lessons dovetailed with the World War II lessons he had learned at home. He even believed his father should have resigned to protest President Lyndon Johnson's insufficient aggression. "John gets that appeasement doesn't work with our enemies," says Orson Swindle, a fellow POW who later served in the Reagan Administration. "They have to know that if they slap us, we're going to knock the hell out of them...
...critics say the issue isn't the McCain campaign's use of biography per se, but rather how and when they bring it up. By turning to his POW experience in order to deflect any question, be it about his character, wealth or memory, McCain appears to risk trivializing his own heroic personal story in much the same way that Rudy Giuliani's constant invoking of 9/11 became the butt of jokes during his presidential campaign...
...McCain has also made clear that he does not want Vietnam to be the "leitmotif" for the rest of his life. In his memoir, Faith of My Fathers, McCain describes this in some detail. "My public profile is inextricably linked to my POW experiences. Obviously, such recognition has benefited my political career, and I am grateful for that," he writes. "But I have tried to make what use I can of Vietnam and not let the memories of war encumber the rest of my life's progress. Neither have I been content to accept that my time in Vietnam would...
Next week, the Republican Party will host a four-day celebration of McCain's life and experience, an event that is sure to focus on McCain's time as a Navy flyer and POW. It's a compelling storyline his campaign has no plans to run away from or leave behind, even if his opponents would like it to backfire...