From the October 16 issue of Rolling Stone comes "Make-Believe Maverick: A closer look at the life and career of John McCain reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty." Here's a teaser (bolding added by me for emphasis) from what is a looong and disturbing expose, but definitely read the whole thing if you can - it's an eye-opener.
This is the story of the real John McCain, the one who has been hiding in plain sight. It is the story of a man who has consistently put his own advancement above all else, a man willing to say and do anything to achieve his ultimate ambition: to become commander in chief, ascending to the one position that would finally enable him to outrank his four-star father and grandfather.[...]
In the cockpit, McCain was not a top gun, or even a middling gun. He took little interest in his flight manuals; he had other priorities.
"I enjoyed the off-duty life of a Navy flier more than I enjoyed the actual flying," McCain writes. "I drove a Corvette, dated a lot, spent all my free hours at bars and beach parties." McCain chased a lot of tail. He hit the dog track. Developed a taste for poker and dice. He picked up models when he could, screwed a stripper when he couldn't.
In the air, the hard-partying McCain had a knack for stalling out his planes in midflight. He was still in training, in Texas, when he crashed his first plane into Corpus Christi Bay during a routine practice landing. The plane stalled, and McCain was knocked cold on impact. When he came to, the plane was underwater, and he had to swim to the surface to be rescued. Some might take such a near-death experience as a wake-up call: McCain took some painkillers and a nap, and then went out carousing that night.[...]
In the spring of 1979, while conducting official business for the Navy, the still-married McCain encountered Cindy Lou Hensley, a willowy former cheerleader for USC. Mutually smitten, the two lied to each other about their ages. The 24-year-old Hensley became 27; the 42-year-old McCain became 38. For nearly a year the two carried on a cross-country romance while McCain was still living with Carol: Court documents filed with their divorce proceeding indicate that they "cohabitated as husband and wife" for the first nine months of the affair.
Although McCain stresses in his memoir that he married Cindy three months after divorcing Carol, he was still legally married to his first wife when he and Cindy were issued a marriage license from the state of Arizona. The divorce was finalized on April 2nd, 1980. McCain's second marriage - rung in at the Arizona Biltmore with Gary Hart as a groomsman - was consummated only six weeks later, on May 17th. The union gave McCain access to great wealth: Cindy, whose father was the exclusive distributor for Budweiser in the Phoenix area, is now worth an estimated $100 million.
It goes on and on, including this:
...Far from the portrayal he presents of himself as an unflinching maverick with a consistent and reliable record, McCain has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to taking whatever position will advance his own career. He "is the classic opportunist," according to Ross Perot, who worked closely with McCain on POW issues. "He's always reaching for attention and glory."
What a nightmare. And remember, it gets even worse: if elected, Sarah "Barracuda" "Wolf Killer" Palin would be a "heartbeat away" from McCain. If it's possible, that's even more frightening than hothead, "original neocon" (his words) John McCain.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/...
There's video embedded. Perhaps someone can figure out how to put the video here in place of this comment.
He was indeed subject to unspeakable torture, and so were the other 600 American prisoners in the Hanoi Hilton, who also refused early release, as he did. No American can deny his heroism and sheer grit, but some of his fellow POWs also say that his treatment improved after HE told his captors his father was Admiral McCain, who became CINCPAC in the time frame (frankly, who can blame him however, for doing what he had to to gain some personal relief?).
What in some measure debases his POW narrative today is how not only has he exploited it endlessly in seeking political advantage over the past 25-plus years, but has offered POW-ism as an excuse for his indulgence in profligate behavior (booze, adultery, gambling), and finally how he has gone from a principled opposition to torture because of his experience to actually endorsing and promoting torture as national policy when he began his run for the presidency. In other words, the whole POW narrative is revealed to be one of political expediency and self-promotion, like Giuliani and his "noun, verb, and 9-11."