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"At a meeting in his Pentagon office in early 1981, Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman told Capt. John S. McCain III that he was about to attain his life ambition: becoming an admiral.... Mr. McCain declined the prospect of his first admiral's star to make a run for Congress, saying that he could 'do more good there,' Mr. Lehman recalled." So claimed the New York Times in a front-page article on May 29 this year.
This story is highly improbable for several reasons, not least of all because John McCain himself has always told a very different story about his stalled naval career.
The Navy may claim that it already released McCain's record to the Associated Press on May 7, 2008 in response to the AP's Freedom of Information Act request. But the McCain file the Navy released contained 19 pages -- a two-page overview and 17 pages detailing Awards and Decorations. Each of these 17 pages is stamped with a number. These numbers range from 0069 to 0636. When arranged in ascending order, they precisely track the chronology of McCain's career. It seems reasonable to ask the Navy whether there are at least 636 pages in McCain's file, of which 617 weren't released to the Associated Press.
Some of the unreleased pages in McCain's Navy file may not reflect well upon his qualifications for the presidency. From day one in the Navy, McCain screwed-up again and again, only to be forgiven because his father and grandfather were four-star admirals. McCain's sense of entitlement to privileged treatment bears an eerie resemblance to George W. Bush's.
Despite graduating in the bottom 1 percent of his Annapolis class, McCain was offered the most sought-after Navy assignment -- to become an aircraft carrier pilot.
Is McCain now getting away with more by hiding his official history and by having his national security adviser inflate McCain's resume with a bogus promotion to admiral humbly declined? If so, McCain may be attempting to hide why the Navy was in fact slow to promote him upwards despite his suffering as a POW and his distinguished naval heritage.
when Mark Salter, McCain's closest aide and co-author, was asked by the Arizona New Times about the first McCain memoir, Faith of My Fathers, that he was then working on, Salter said "the book will showcase a humble McCain. When I worked on this book with him, he just kept saying, 'Other guys had it a lot worse. I think they took it easier on me because of who my dad was. . . . When they tied me in ropes, they'd roll my sleeve up to give it a little padding between the rope and my bicep, you know, little things I noticed. The only really hard time I had was when I didn't go home, and then it only lasted a week, and sometimes I felt braver, I felt I could get away with more.'"
Originally posted by grover
the biggest scandal of his career was his involvement in the savings and loans crisis
Originally posted by grover
As for his torture:
Originally posted by SlightlyAbovePar
reply to post by grover
Questionable?
There is absolutely nothing "questionable" about his military experience and the sacrifices he's made for his country.
www.usvetdsp.com...
Sen. McCain stunned onlookers at the hearing when he rushed forward to the witness table and warmly embraced Col. Bui Tin as if he was a long, lost brother
McCain was sent to a different camp on the outskirts of Hanoi[40] in December 1967, into a cell with two other Americans who did not expect him to live a week.[
In March 1968, McCain was put into solitary confinement, where he would remain for two years.[42]
Originally posted by maria_stardust
That said, I think McCain's camp is definitely puffing up his military service.
Originally posted by grover
The article was also pointing out the preferential treatment McCain got, or may have gotten during his military career thanks to his father and grandfather, something most certainly NOT unheard of.
Navy pilot John Sidney McCain III should have never been allowed to graduate from the U.S. Navy flight school. He was a below average student and a lousy pilot. Had his father and grandfather not been famous four star U.S. Navy admirals, McCain III would have never been allowed in the cockpit of a military aircraft.
*****SKIP*****
During his relative short stunt on flight status, McCain III lost five U.S. Navy aircraft, four in accidents and one in combat.
*****SKIP*****
McCain III lost jet number one in 1958 when he plunged into Corpus Christi Bay while practicing landings.
*****SKIP*****
McCain's second crash occurred while he was deployed in the Mediterranean. "Flying too low over the Iberian Peninsula
*****SKIP*****
McCain's third crash three occurred when he was returning from flying a Navy trainer solo to Philadelphia for an Army-Navy football game.
*****SKIP*****
McCain's fourth aircraft loss occurred July 29, 1967, soon after he was assigned to the USS Forrestal as an A-4 Skyhawk pilot. While seated in the cockpit of his aircraft waiting his turn for takeoff, an accidently fired rocket slammed into McCain's plane.
*****SKIP*****
McCain's fifth loss happened during his 23rd mission over North Vietnam on Oct. 26, 1967,
*****SKIP*****
For 23 combat missions (an estimated 20 hours over enemy territory), the U.S. Navy awarded McCain a Silver Star, a Legion of Merit for Valor, a Distinguished Flying Cross, three Bronze Stars, two Commendation medals plus two Purple Hearts and a dozen service medals.
Some interesting fallout from John McCain's release of his tax return and other financial disclosures: Ralph Vartabedian of the LAT reports today that McCain receives a tax-free, 100-percent disability pension (nearly $60,000 last year) from the US Navy.
And he cannot raise either arm above his shoulder. The Navy has classified him as 100% disabled, which makes the pension taxfree. So is there a disparity and health concern in a White House candidate, who if elected would be the oldest man ever inaugurated president, also receiving a 100% disability military pension?
"Tortured for his country," McCain senior advisor Mark Salter said tonight. "That is how he acquired his disability."