Defending McCain

First, let me be clear. I voted for Barack Obama in the Democratic primary. I will vote for him in the general election. I think he is the best candidate for president based on his policies and his vision. And, I hope with all my heart that he wins. That said, someone on Tumblr needs to stick up for John McCain, so I will.

If you don’t know much about McCain other than he’s old, he’s Republican, and he (unfortunately) has supported many of Bush’s Iraq policies, check out his Wikipedia article.

John McCain asked for combat duty in Vietnam as a naval aviator, survived horrible injuries after being shot down in 1967 over Hanoi, and was then in captivity for five and a half years (two of those in solitary confinement). For much of his imprisonment, he was subjected to multiple beatings each week because he wouldn’t sign propaganda statements for North Vietnam. In all that time, he only broke once and made a “confession” after extreme torture.

McCain was offered early release by the North Vietnamese because his father was a high-ranking U.S. military officer in the war. But, he refused because his fellow U.S. inmates weren’t offered the same early release. After his eventual release in 1973, he continued his career in the Navy until 1981, having received seventeen military awards and decorations including the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, and Navy Commendation Medal.

John McCain has decades of experience in federal government service, having been in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1982 to 1986 and the U.S. Senate since that time.

He has been a level-headed and often independent voice on important issues like campaign finance reform, climate change, pork barrel Congressional budget earmarks, and what interrogation techniques should be permissible on military detainees.

In addition to having his biological children, McCain and his second wife adopted an abandoned three-month old girl who needed medical care from a Bangladeshi orphanage in 1991.

McCain is far more conservative than I am and I disagree with him strongly on Iraq and on some social issues, but I respect him greatly. He is a courageous patriot who has put his life on the line for America, suffered torture for America, and served our nation faithfully for decades in the Navy and in Congress.

So, get as pumped as you like about Obama. I’m certainly pumped. I think Obama could be the 21st Century JFK. But, don’t diss John McCain with jokes about his age, smile, or personality. McCain deserves better. McCain has given us better.