What McCain went through in the North Vietnamese POW camps is an unimaginable, unfathomable horror. The word "heroism" doesn't really capture it sufficiently. It is a singular experience, and it defies human nature to expect that it wouldn't have been the crucible through which McCain's essence was formed. But it's becoming a verbal tic, the equivalent of Rudy Giuliani's noun-verb-9/11. Does it honor or cheapen that experience to use it to bat away unrelated questions about, say, how many homes you own, or whether you truthfully entered a cone of debate-silence or what influences your musical taste? By bringing up the POW experience at opportunities like these, McCain is clearly trying t...

What McCain went through in the North Vietnamese POW camps is an unimaginable, unfathomable horror. The word "heroism" doesn't really capture it sufficiently. It is a singular experience, and it defies human nature to expect that it wouldn't have been the crucible through which McCain's essence was formed. But it's becoming a verbal tic, the equivalent of Rudy Giuliani's noun-verb-9/11. Does it honor or cheapen that experience to use it to bat away unrelated questions about, say, how many homes you own, or whether you truthfully entered a cone of debate-silence or what influences your musical taste? By bringing up the POW experience at opportunities like these, McCain is clearly trying to bait Obama into seeming to attack that experience. That's a really unfortunate move that's entirely beneath the character of a man who endured what McCain endured.

I agree. But there's also another issue here:


2. Thousands of veterans are homeless--that is, they have ZERO homes.

John McCain seems to forget that while he and his wife own at least eight houses, there are currently over 150,000 homeless vets on America's streets. The only "houses" they own are cardboard boxes under a bridge. Many of these vets served alongside John McCain in Vietnam. Some might have even been POWs. Either way, thousands of them have suffered immeasurably overseas, in the service of their country.

Therefore, to justify owning eight homes by saying he was a POW for five and a half years is disingenuous at best, outright repulsive at worst. If McCain thinks so highly of the wartime experience, perhaps he has some floor space to spare for a few homeless vets in a handful of his many homes.

John McCain owes troops and veterans more respect than he seems to be giving them. Whether it's cheapening the POW experience, opposing the Webb GI Bill, or blustering for more wars, he's doing a disservice to all veterans.

"But John McCain suffered for his country, and Barack Obama didn't," I sometimes hear.
My dad was a WWII veteran of the 2nd Armored Division in the African and Italian campaigns. He suffered, in some ways, every day of his life. He died with dementia in September of '01, often certain that he was in a Nazi prison camp.

Suffering didn't qualify him to be President. It made him walking wounded, perhaps less well adjusted than he might otherwise have been. War, suffering, trauma - these things often make people less able, rather than more.

"We honor you, we owe you, we are sorry you suffered" - to be sure. But to put a person in office because he suffered and we feel sorry for him is the ...

"But John McCain suffered for his country, and Barack Obama didn't," I sometimes hear.
My dad was a WWII veteran of the 2nd Armored Division in the African and Italian campaigns. He suffered, in some ways, every day of his life. He died with dementia in September of '01, often certain that he was in a Nazi prison camp.

Suffering didn't qualify him to be President. It made him walking wounded, perhaps less well adjusted than he might otherwise have been. War, suffering, trauma - these things often make people less able, rather than more.

"We honor you, we owe you, we are sorry you suffered" - to be sure. But to put a person in office because he suffered and we feel sorry for him is the worst kind of affirmative action. And to use one's own suffering to garner votes is - or ought to be seen as - shameful manipulation.

"Scratch the surface of McCain's captivity narrative, however, and a funny thing happens: his heroism blows away like the rust from a vintage POW bracelet."

I am a war criminal," McCain said on "60 Minutes" in 1997. "I bombed innocent women and children."

When a prisoner in Vietnam McCain signed a confession admitting to war crimes.

Let me make it clear: I would have cracked under torture long before McCain. I would have cracked probably just under the threat of torture.

I may have cracked if they didn't give me coffee everyday.

BUT -- the point is -- getting shot down is not normally considered heroic.

Becoming a prisoner of war is not grounds for being called a "hero."

Signing co...

"Scratch the surface of McCain's captivity narrative, however, and a funny thing happens: his heroism blows away like the rust from a vintage POW bracelet."

I am a war criminal," McCain said on "60 Minutes" in 1997. "I bombed innocent women and children."

When a prisoner in Vietnam McCain signed a confession admitting to war crimes.

Let me make it clear: I would have cracked under torture long before McCain. I would have cracked probably just under the threat of torture.

I may have cracked if they didn't give me coffee everyday.

BUT -- the point is -- getting shot down is not normally considered heroic.

Becoming a prisoner of war is not grounds for being called a "hero."

Signing confessions for war crimes is, in fact, normally considered giving in, giving a propaganda coup to the enemy.

So -- I'd give the man a Purple Heart for every day of his captivity. Wouldn't this be the correct medal, not the Medal of Honor?

It annoys me too that we call all our soldiers "heros," now (and "peacekeepers). When you join the army you become a soldier...a soldier not an instant "hero."

I complain about this because it's easy and cheap propaganda...if the soldiers are heros then our actions must be "heroic."

If our soldiers are all "peacekeepers," that we must be there to keep the peace rather than making war, occupying a nation, stealing resources, etc.

One point, though: Re: McCain >> On the other hand The North Vietnamese had offered him early release as soon as they learned his father was an admiral.

But this would have been a violation of military rules developed after a few American POWs during the Korean War cooperated with the enemy.

McCain didn't take the early leave. Maybe this was heroic -- and John paid a great horrible price for it...although the idea of coming home and being court-martial and called a coward would be quite unacceptable to all of us.

Hero? It distracts from the real debate: "No Justice. No Peace. US out of the Middle East."

reallythough, here's a real though about American democracy: free speech and opinions are allowed.

If you can't handle this and wish to shut it down then I'd suggest that YOU should live somewhere else. I would hope YOU take advantage of that "freedom!!!!!" (sic)

The pathetic idea, also, that only Republicans are fighting and dying for America, in this war and others, is one-sided and sickening; and typical of Republican campaigning: They stick a flag on anything and then claim their actions are patriotism.

The Iraq War was started with deliberately fabricated lies, false intelligence, and distortions that linked Saddam to 9/11 and WMD's.

Although it's a nice idea to "support the troops,...

reallythough, here's a real though about American democracy: free speech and opinions are allowed.

If you can't handle this and wish to shut it down then I'd suggest that YOU should live somewhere else. I would hope YOU take advantage of that "freedom!!!!!" (sic)

The pathetic idea, also, that only Republicans are fighting and dying for America, in this war and others, is one-sided and sickening; and typical of Republican campaigning: They stick a flag on anything and then claim their actions are patriotism.

The Iraq War was started with deliberately fabricated lies, false intelligence, and distortions that linked Saddam to 9/11 and WMD's.

Although it's a nice idea to "support the troops," -- really -- but this does not mean to me that I should support policies of war started on lies, not in the true interests of the vast majority of the American people, and not in accord (since WWII) with the Constitutional procedure to declare war, nor in accord with the idea of America now starting -- STARTING WARS, "pre-emptive wars," and all that crap.

Go to Nazi Germany, 1938: Support the troops.