How can McCain's 5.5 years of torture make a good president?

McCain was held for about 5.5 years by the North Vietnamese and tortured. Because studies indicate that torture has significant permanent effects, how can Americans elect a man to be president with this background?
www.usatoday.com...


If McCain was tortured for 5.5 years as he says, then he received significant amounts of permanent brain alteration. His documented temper, his confusion in recent remarks and his consistent flip-flops are indicative of more than PTSD. How can Americans trust him to lead us?

I don't think it's fair to apply a general analysis to a specific incident. We don't know the extent of his 'torture' or what really happened during his captivity, and no one here is a certified psychologist that has evaluated Senator McCain. He has led a successful career as a politician and has been known to make smart decisions, so his captivity didn't seem to have 'broken' him.

All I'm saying is based the time he has been back, he has shown sound control of his mental abilities, so it's unfair to apply that label to him.

reply to post by Sage08


McCain's time in the military has no bearing on his ability to serve as POTUS.

POW or not.

There are MANY more ways to show how unqualified he is to be POTUS.

Sorry to the OP - but this just isnt an appropriate reason.


[edit on 8/6/2008 by Andrew E. Wiggin]

He seems pretty sane to me. It could be said it makes him better equipped to protect and lead our country in these trying times and the future ahead.

reply to post by 4x4fun


No offense, but thats a stretch.

There are leaders in the military and there are followers. (no offense intended)

McCain was a follower. Never a leader.

Just because he was a troop, does not make him super qualified to lead a war.

Just my 2 cents of course. I thank all troops for their service, but im not going to play kiss-(3 letter word for a butt) just because of it.

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not a McCain supporter by any means. And I am active duty Air Force, and even I agree that military service by no means qualifies anyone to be President.

I was just stating that it's unfair to judge him using circumstantial evidence. As for the reasons stated, you could reasonably argue that:

1) His documented temper- honestly I haven't heard much of his temper, and I've studied many of the candidates closely
2) His confusion in recent remarks- Everyone, especially tired politicians on the campaign trail, often make confusing statements or mis-understand a question. It's totally normal, they're human. Senator Obama got some heat when he mistakenly said he visited '57 states' when he meant to say he visited 47. He was tired from the traveling and it was a slip of the tongue. To err is human.
3) Constant flip-flops- This "flip-flopping" thing is getting out of hand, for both Obama and McCain. Sticking to your guns about a issue you feel is important, but there is a point when stubborn rigidty when faced with new facts is the mark of a fool.
4)PTSD (Post Tramatic Stress Disorder) typically does not pop up 30 years later.

Again, we don't know what happened to Senator McCain, but it's easy to overanalyze his behavior because he's in the spotlight now. I don't think there is anything mentally wrong with him at all. Personally, I just don't agree with his views on foreign and domestic policy. I won't vote for him, but thats not because I think he would be a incabable president.