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Why I Won’t Vote for John McCain
John McCain is a long-time
acquaintance of mine that goes way back to our time together
at the U.S. Naval Academy and as Prisoners of War in
Vietnam. He is a man I respect and admire in some ways. But
there are a number of reasons why I won’t vote for him for
President of the United States.
When I was a Plebe (4th
classman, or freshman) at the Naval Academy in 1957-58, I
was assigned to the 17th Company for my four
years there. In those days we had about 3,600 midshipmen
spread among 24 companies, thus about 150 midshipmen to a
company. As fortune would have it, John, a First Classman
(senior) and his room mate lived directly across the hall
from me and my two room mates. Believe me when I say that
back then I would never in a million or more years have
dreamed that the crazy guy across the hall would someday be
a Senator and candidate for President!
John was a wild man. He was
funny, with a quick wit and he was intelligent. But he was
intent on breaking every USNA regulation in our 4 inch thick
USNA Regulations book. And I believe he must have come as
close to his goal as any midshipman who ever attended the
Academy. I could tell many midshipman stories about John
that year and he unbelievably managed to graduate though he
spent the majority of his first class year on restriction
for the stuff he did get caught doing. In fact he barely
managed to graduate, standing 5th from the bottom
of his 800 man graduating class. I and many others have
speculated that the main reason he did graduate was because
his father was an Admiral, and also his grandfather, both
U.S. Naval Academy graduates.
People often ask if I was a
Prisoner of War with John McCain. My answer is always “No –
John McCain was a POW with me.” The reason is I was there
for 8 years and John got there 2 ½ years later, so he was a
POW for 5 ½ years. And we have our own seniority system,
based on time as a POW.
John’s treatment as a POW:
1) Was he tortured for 5
years? No. He was subjected to torture and maltreatment
during his first 2 years, from September of 1967 to
September of 1969. After September of 1969 the Vietnamese
stopped the torture and gave us increased food and
rudimentary health care. Several hundred of us were captured
much earlier. I got there April 20, 1965 so my bad treatment
period lasted 4 1/2 years. President Ho Chi Minh died on
September 9, 1969, and the new regime that replaced him and
his policies was more pragmatic. They realized we were worth
a lot as bargaining chips if we were alive. And they were
right because eventually Americans gave up on the war and
agreed to trade our POW’s for their country. A damn good
trade in my opinion! But my point here is that John allows
the media to make him out to be THE hero POW, which he knows
is absolutely not true, to further his political goals.
2) John was badly injured
when he was shot down. Both arms were broken and he had
other wounds from his ejection. Unfortunately this was often
the case – new POW’s arriving with broken bones and serious
combat injuries. Many died from their wounds. Medical care
was non-existent to rudimentary. Relief from pain was almost
never given and often the wounds were used as an available
way to torture the POW. Because John’s father was the Naval
Commander in the Pacific theater, he was exploited with TV
interviews while wounded. These film clips have now been
widely seen. But it must be known that many POW’s suffered
similarly, not just John. And many were similarly exploited
for political propaganda.
3) John was offered, and
refused, “early release.” Many of us were given this offer.
It meant speaking out against your country and lying about
your treatment to the press. You had to “admit” that the
U.S. was criminal and that our treatment was “lenient and
humane.” So I, like numerous others, refused the offer. This
was obviously something none of us could accept. Besides, we
were bound by our service regulations, Geneva Conventions
and loyalties to refuse early release until all the POW’s
were released, with the sick and wounded going first.
4) John was awarded a
Silver Star and Purple Heart for heroism and wounds in
combat. This heroism has been played up in the press and in
his various political campaigns. But it should be known that
there were approximately 660 military POW’s in Vietnam.
Among all of us, decorations awarded have recently been
totaled as follows: Medals of Honor – 8, Service Crosses –
42, Silver Stars – 590, Bronze Stars – 958 and Purple Hearts
– 1,249. John certainly performed courageously and well. But
it must be remembered that he was one hero among many - not
uniquely so as his campaigns would have people believe.
Among the POW’s John wasn’t special. He was just one of the
guys.
John McCain served his time
as a POW with great courage, loyalty and tenacity. More that
600 of us did the same. After our repatriation a census
showed that 95% of us had been tortured at least once. The
Vietnamese were quite democratic about it. There were many
heroes in North Vietnam. I saw heroism every day there. And
we motivated each other to endure and succeed far beyond
what any of us thought we had in ourselves. Succeeding as a
POW is a group sport, not an individual one. We all
supported and encouraged each other to survive and succeed.
John knows that. He was not an individual POW hero. He was a
POW who surmounted the odds with the help of many comrades,
as all of us did.
I furthermore believe that
having been a POW is no special qualification for being
President of the United States. The two jobs are not the
same, and POW experience is not, in my opinion, something I
would look for in a presidential candidate.
Most of us who survived
that experience are now in our late 60’s and 70’s. Sadly, we
have died and are dying off at a greater rate than our
non-POW contemporaries. We experienced injuries and
malnutrition that are coming home to roost. So I believe
John’s age (72) and survival expectation are not good for
being elected to serve as our President for 4 or more years.
I can verify that John has
an infamous reputation for being a hot head. He has a quick
and explosive temper that many have experienced first hand.
Folks, quite honestly that is not the finger I want next to
that red button.
It is also disappointing to
see him take on and support Bush’s war in Iraq, even stating
we might be there for another 100 years. For me John
represents the entrenched and bankrupt policies of
Washington-as-usual. The past 7 years have proven to be
disastrous for our country. And I believe John’s views on
war, foreign policy, economics, environment, health care,
education, national infrastructure and other important areas
are much the same as those of the Bush administration.
I’m disappointed to see
John represent himself politically in ways that are not
accurate. He is not a moderate or maverick Republican. On
some issues he is a maverick. But his voting record is far
to the right. I fear for his nominations to our Supreme
Court, and the consequent continuing loss of individual
freedoms, especially regarding moral and religious issues.
John is not a religious person, but he has taken every
opportunity to ally himself with some really obnoxious and
crazy fundamentalist minister. I was also disappointed to
see him cozy up to Bush because I know he dislikes that man.
He disingenuously and famously put his arm around the guy,
even after Bush had intensely disrespected him with lies and
slander. So on these and many other instances, I don’t see
that John is the “straight talk express” he markets himself
to be.
Senator John Sidney McCain,
III is a remarkable man who has made enormous personal
achievements. And he is a man that I am proud to call a
fellow POW who “Returned With Honor.” That’s our POW motto.
But since many of you keep asking what I think of him, I’ve
decided to write it out. In short, I think John Sidney
McCain, III is a good man, but not someone I will vote for
in the upcoming election to be our President of the United
States.
Monterey, 6/18/08
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