That's a heavy charge. McCain's POW record is the one shining moment of great courage in his record. It's what put him in the national spotlight in the first place. And the ordeal he went through was so horrific that you can't question his valor. But now, he has gone and done something that was so unnecessary -- apparently embellishing a story during his stay at the POW camps.
There was absolutely no need for this. His perseverance through five and half years of the prison camp was plenty heroic. He didn't need to add anything to it. But it looks like he did:
Here is the original ad McCain ran about this story. Here is a post with more details on this story, where you can see the whole Solzhenitsyn quote (and the possible Chuck Colson quote where it actually originated from) and get all of the background on how McCain came up with this story in 1999 and in fact might have even changed it in 2000 from it happening to another soldier to it happening to him. This is beyond the pale. You want to talk about a character issue. This is about character.
I know some of you won't believe me, but I am actually disappointed in McCain. I didn't think he would do something like this. Remember I voted for him in the 2000 primaries when I was still a Republican. He was a guy I believed in. To see him make up things about something so important and personal, it makes you lose faith in all politicians to some degree. Is there anything they won't stoop to?
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Is McCain Lying About His POW Experience?
Posted Aug 19th 2008 11:16AM by Cenk Uygur
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Reader Comments ( Page 4 of 13)
46. Hey Jim,
I hope your Wednesday is starting out great today.
"I have watched Democrats come to Michigan every four years since 1968 and promise to keep our jobs here. Yet the numbers show they still continue to leave. Is this not pandering for votes?"
I agree with you 100%. Are the republicans any different Jim? You guys are struggling there. There has only been one Democrat in office that lasted 8 years out of the last 28. And for that matter, I wasn't a fan of his.
"All politicians do this. My concern is that the left only print anything they can find that is NEGATIVE to get voters thinking that way. WHEN THE MASSES HEAR OVER AND OVER AGAIN HOW BAD THINGS ARE THEY START TO BELIEVE IT. I do not care if McCain is a great Christian or not. I do not care if Obama is a Muslim or not."
Well Jim, he isn't a Muslim. It's a scare tactic by people which have to do this because they struggle with countering his momentum. It's the same NEGATIVE type of stuff you don't like. I'm a Christian, and I study my faith constantly as well as other faiths. He is a Christian. I have no doubts about it.
"I am concerned with the over desire for power. Political parties will do and say ANYTHING to get back in power, even at the expense of our country and its people. The battles between the parties have kept our nation from becoming what it should be. These politicians who we put in office keep us snorting at each other while they ALL line their pockets and laugh at us."
You are so correct. Corporations, Institutionalized Religions and other Countries own and control our Country. We need something different. We need someone that thinks outside of the box and someone that HASN'T been a part of this mess the past 28 years. More importantly we finally need a leader that has intelligence.
Whenever we vote, we are still chancing it. We don't know crap until their in office. I haven't voted since 1996. I'm voting this time, because there is a candidate that is finally worthy enough of my vote.
"Now,I ask you is this story really worthy of being here?"
Is the fraudulent stories of Obama being a Muslim, having a fake birth certificate, and being anti-American, really worthy of your time, considering it's all bullshit?
Botts at 9:56AM on Aug 20th 2008
47. Shame on you for stooping to such a lowly attack on John McCain. You are full of crap. McCain's treatment in Hanoi is well documented both by former POWs and by the vietnamese government. You Obama HYPE victims must be getting desperate.
GB at 10:19AM on Aug 20th 2008
48. It was a perfect story for his audience. Let's face it, both candidates stretch the truth. McCain's experience on foreign policy is minimal. It's time we start taking care of US don't you think? We don't need more war. Give Obama a chance. The last 7 years can't get much worse.
Bill at 12:58PM on Aug 21st 2008
49. 'But there was only one candidate that day that gave spur of the moment, thoughtful answers."
So you're saying you know McCain heard the questions ahead of time?
bob at 11:07AM on Aug 20th 2008
50. I'm not surprised. But what really scares me about McCain is his Defense Dept. PTSD evaluation, which he won't release. Ordinarily, I'd say this is a private matter, but not if you're running for President. PTSD lasts a lifetime. We need to know if McCain'll crack under pressure.
John at 11:10AM on Aug 20th 2008
51. No I don't think he was put at a disadvantage and I would have hoped that both candidates could have had the same opportunities. With that said, it would have been better to have had both candidates up there at the same time.
xxxxxx
Well it has been "reported" that both candidates were asked to be on stage at the same time however the Obama camp wanted each one to go at seperate times. Whether or not is was Obama or Rick who knows. However, I am guessing the McCain "reported" cheating story is more valuable. By the way can everyone believe that McCain is ahead of Obama in the polls, given the remarkable media American Idol created campaign, compared to McCains city mayor type campaign.
Jones at 11:49AM on Aug 20th 2008
52. YT Asks a Question? Its like saying "Is Obama a closet America hating Leftist? You open the door but don't "Actually" say it. Imprint it on the minds of people with no proof.... like a scumbag.
Another case of "Young Turds".
*I'm for McCain but I don't hate Obama and if he's
elected I will support him as our President.
kcw0809 at 12:41PM on Aug 20th 2008
53. According to Zogby:
John McCain now has a 5 point national lead over Obama. This would represent a 12-13 point turnaround from the previous month of July.
Sound proof the Democratic Party has no real core anymore. The hard line left has hijacked any "moderate" hopes of unifying a "central" theme.
John McCain while not being the top overall pick of right wingers still stayed within the conservative value system & continues to gain support based on this.
The shift in the polls may move Hillary into the front line for VP selection. The Obama camp is getting desperate. America gets to see the true ego of Obama now, compromise the election or choose a problematic running mate?
Sidenote: Gen. Wesley Clark who at one time was a talked about candidate for VP will not be invited to the Democratic convention.
The wheels are falling off....
Bobby at 12:02PM on Aug 20th 2008
54. ITS HARD TO BELIEVE ALL THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT NOTHING IMPORTANT
OUR COUNTRY IS HELD HOSTAGE BY COUNTRIES THAT DO NOT LIKE US. WE HAD THE WAKE UP IN THE OIL IMBARGO OF 1970 AND YET, WE HAVE BEEN PREVENTED FROM BECOMMING ENERGY INDEPENDENT BY BLOCKING NUCLEAR (which has been proven safe by France who has 80% nuclear.BLOCKING DRILLING OUR OWN OIL,GAS AND FROM BUILDING REFINERIES. THE SO CALLED 10 YR WAIT FOR NEW OIL IS MOSTLY CONSUMED BY DELAYED PERMITS,LAW SUITS BY INVIORNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS WE CAN HAVE OIL FLOWING FROM THE GULF OR OFF CALIFORNIA IN 1-2 YEARS. YES WE NEED TO USE WIND,SOLAR,HYBRIDS AND HAVE MORE EFFICIENT VEHICLES.AND YES CLEAN COAL WHICH IS MORE TIMLEY THAN THE GREEN ANSWERS THE ALTERNATIVES TO OIL ARE A LONG WAY IN THE FUTURE TO MAKE A SIGNIFIGANT IMPACT ON OUR ENERGY NEEDS. THERE WILL ALWAYS NEED TO BE A FOSSEL FUEL BACK UP WHEN THE WIND DOESNT BLOW AND THA SUN DOESNT SHINE WE DONT KNOW HOW TO MAKE PLASTICS OUT OF ANY THING BUT OIL
GUESS WHICH GROUP HAS BEEN RESOPONSIBLE FOR OUR PLIGHT? OBAMA IS FOR CHANGE EXCEPT OUR FAILED ENERGY POLICY OF BLOCKING OUR OWN RESOURCCS
MAX THE KNIFE at 9:17PM on Aug 21st 2008
55. Cenk, MoveOn, Soros money and all the little left wingnuts are attacking McCain's war record and turning more of the voting public against the Democrats.
All this Democrat shoot themselves in the foot routine as Obama is going down in flames.
American voters are becoming more and more aware that Obama was at the least a Muslim in his youthful days. But Obama keeps on with the lies, even putting it on his web site.
Americans, I think, will not elect anyone who even smells a little bit like a Muslim, much less stinks like one as does Obama.
Then Hillary Clinton will steal the show at the Democrat Convention and show what fools those Democrats are that selected Obama. It is a huge mistake that MoveOn and Soros made in turning against Hillary for the LeftWing views and
the "Pay to Play" Chicago politics of Obama. The Democrats should have walked away with the White House this November election by a huge victory margin.
Now the Democrats are blowing it again.
Robert OKane at 1:24PM on Aug 20th 2008
56. I thought the DInesh blogs were bad, but this one really attracts the christofascist neocon liar scumbag fuckwads! Like a bowl of blood attracting vampire bats. There's actually too much republican ass-smoke on here to read the posts of the others so I'll just post this and leave.
They might win with that ass-smole, too. A lot of people believe it. Because it's simple, and Obama's more complex and intelligent, and YOU MORONS DON'T DO COMPLEX WELL.
Saint Brian the Godless at 1:44PM on Aug 20th 2008
57. Botts
Kick this article around in your head.
What hospital was Obama born in????????
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ARTICLE
The Certification of Live Birth (COLB) proffered by Barack Obama may be a legitimate document issued by the State of Hawaii, although analysts such as Polarik aren’t convinced.
Regardless, Hawaii’s form COLB serves as an abstract for the original birth certificate (remember in Dreams, Obama says he found that in high school), which includes extensive details of one’s birth. The State of Hawaii maintains the original long version in its files for all registrants.
If Obama’s COLB is valid, and if he was born in Honolulu as he says, one question still remains unanswered.
In which hospital was Obama born: Queens Medical Center or Kapiolani Medical Center? I read that Obama himself refuses to answer this question. Is that true?
Many reference materials say Obama was born at Kapiolani, including Wikipedia English version under the subject “Barack Obama.”
But under the subject “Queens Hospital”, Wikipedia says Obama was born there. And Wikipedia Italian says this:
Barack Obama nacque al Queen’s Medical Center di Honolulu da Barack Hussein Obama Sr….
Wikipedia Geneology says Queens too.
And there’s this reference on Yahoo Answers:
Apparently, examination of the hospitals’ records in Hawaii have shown no birthing records for Ann Dunham Obama even though there is a registry of the birth in the public records office a week after his date of birth it does not show his place of birth.
Perhaps that Yahoo Answer explains Ann Dunham’s brief stop-over in Mercer Island with baby Barack when he was only a couple of weeks old. Is it possible that she was on her way back to Hawaii?
The State of Hawaii does provide for “late registration” births.
Does anyone know in which hospital Stanley Ann Dunham delivered Barack Obama?
UPDATE:…
Alternatively, I ask, “Can anyone identify a written statement or interview or recorded statement wherein Obama, himself, identifies which hospital he was born in?” I’ve asked this question for a month now. No statement has been idenitified by anyone here or elsewhere. The inference to be drawn from this is obvious. He doesn’t identify a hospital because it is something that can be factually verified or debunked and this would compromise his aura of plausable deniability when it comes to issues of his true birth place.
Botts
and if you are energetic, read this just one of many article written by "experts" on Obama phoney birth certificate.
http://polarik.blogtownhall.com/2008/07/03/Obamas_birth_certificate_
Robert OKane at 1:53PM on Aug 20th 2008
58. How many jet fighter's did McCain crash? The only reason he was in the Academy is because of his grandfather, father's pull. He didn't qualify on his own. Much like Bush in an Ivy League College. His grandfather, father's pull. So please give answers to my questions...
Carolyn Bond at 1:57PM on Aug 20th 2008
59. Botts
Correct site for a "experts" view of why Obama's birth certificate which is shown on his web site and the DailyKos web site.
That is if you are interested.
http://Polarik.blogtownhall.com
Robert OKane at 2:04PM on Aug 20th 2008
60. Robert Okane,
Again, you are not worth my time, because you can't possibly serious. This is because you are a racist and a bigot.
Don't be retarded. He can't travel the world and run for President with fake papers. Move onto something else. Talk about Chicago's dirty politics. That has substance to it.
Muslim, Fake Papers talk make you guys the ones looking desperate. You all should ride the momentum of McCain's fake Christianity and see how that goes.
You are a racist and it reeks all over your posts time and time again. That's what is behind your motivation.
Take Bobby, Bob and Dedmanrisn for example. I may disagree with everything they say, but I won't call them racists. Their posts are about policies and view points. That is what they are voting on.
You come on here and call him "Hussein". Only bigots do that. Does Obama go by the name Hussein? No. He goes by Barack. You call him that, because you feel it has a nasty arab twist to it. Not to mention, we took over a country that had an evil leader with that name. So you try use it and relate the two.
Definition: Racist.
Botts at 2:37PM on Aug 20th 2008