- Alternative meanings: John S. McCain, Sr., John S. McCain, Jr.
John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936) is an American politician. Considered a maverick Republican, McCain has been a U.S. Senator from Arizona since 1987, winning re-election in 1992, 1998, and 2004. He was a presidential candidate in the 2000 election, but was defeated in the Republican primaries by then-Texas Governor and now President George W. Bush.
John McCain | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Senior Senator, Arizona | |
| In office January, 1987–Present | |
| Preceded by | Barry Goldwater |
| Succeeded by | Incumbent (2011) |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | american |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Cindy McCain |
Prior to entering politics, McCain was a Captain in the United States Navy and a prisoner of war in Vietnam. He was honorably discharged upon his retirement from the Navy in 1981.
Early life
McCain was born in Coco Solo in the Panama Canal Zone, the son and grandson of prominent U.S. Navy admirals (John S. McCain, Jr. and John S. McCain, Sr.). He attended Episcopal High School and graduated in 1954. McCain then followed in his fathers' footsteps to the United States Naval Academy, graduating in 1958. McCain's father and grandfather had both graduated very low in their classes and McCain joked that he followed in their footsteps. He admitted he disliked the life of a midshipman and was given many demerits and was a lackluster student. He graduated 894th out of a class of 899. In 1965, McCain married Carol Shepp, a model originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The couple divorced in 1980.
Vietnam
A naval aviator, McCain was stationed aboard the USS Forrestal where, on July 29, 1967, he escaped death when a missile accidentally launched across the ship, striking his A-4 Skyhawk. The impact ruptured the fuel tank on his aircraft, the leaking fuel instantly ignited, and knocked a bomb into the fire. McCain escaped from his jet by climbing out of the cockpit, walking down to the nose of the plane, and jumping off the nose boom. A minute and a half after the impact, the bomb exploded underneath the plane, starting a major fire which killed 134 sailors and nearly threatened to destroy the ship.
Video tape shot aboard the Forrestal shows McCain narrowly escaping the explosion.
Later in 1967, he was shot down over Vietnam, and was held as a prisoner of war in Hanoi for five-and-a-half years, mostly in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. When the North Vietnamese discovered he was the son and grandson of admirals, he was offered a chance to go home, but he refused to break the military code that POWs be released in the order that they are captured.
He was finally released from captivity in 1973, having survived the injuries he received when he was shot down, the beatings from an angry crowd and his captors, a year of torture, and two years of solitary confinement. Coincidentally, the pilot incarcerated next to him, James Stockdale, went on to be Ross Perot's running mate in 1992. Once released, his POW injuries prevented him from receiving a sea command, so in 1977, he became a Naval liaison to the Senate. He retired from the Navy in 1981 as a Captain on the same day he watched his father buried next to his grandfather in Arlington National Cemetery. During his military career he received a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit, the Purple Heart, and a Distinguished Flying Cross.
McCain is one of only three Vietnam veterans serving in the US Senate, the others being fellow Republican Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, and Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts.
A TV movie entitled Faith Of My Fathers, based on McCain's memoir of his experiences as a POW, aired on Memorial Day, 2005 on A&E.
McCain has been treated for recurrent skin cancer, including melanoma. Some media sources have suggested that this may be linked to his heavy sun exposure in Vietnam.
Political career
When John Jacob Rhodes, the longtime congressman from Arizona's First Congressional district, announced his retirement, McCain ran for the seat in 1982 and won it. In 1986, upon Senator Barry Goldwater's retirement, McCain was elected to succeed him. His campaign was partially financed by Charles Keating, who had also contributed to his House campaigns. Keating was convicted of fraud during the Savings and Loan crisis of the 1980s, also causing McCain to come under investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee. McCain was found to have no involvement in what became known as the Keating Five scandal, but the ordeal may have led to his later support of campaign finance reform.
Race for President 2000
In 1997, TIME magazine named him as one of the "25 Most Influential People in America." His best-selling book, Faith of My Fathers (1999, ISBN 0375501916), helped propel his presidential run. McCain ran in the 2000 presidential Republican primary, winning in New Hampshire, Michigan, Massachusetts, Arizona, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Vermont. He also gave a strong showing in Washington state, where he lost by 2,730 votes statewide, as well as in South Carolina and Maine.
The primary in South Carolina was especially important, as a McCain victory probably would have put him on the track to nomination. His loss has been attributed to a combination of Bush's mobilization of the state's religious vote and the general reluctance of the American people to elect a senator to an executive position. The primary was remembered as particularly intense even relative to the political polarization of the electorate at that time, including allegations of dirty campaigning regarding McCain's adopted daughter. [1]
Race for President 2004
Despite his earlier rivalry with Bush, McCain was one of the President's most vocal supporters in the 2004 US Presidential Election. He often praised Bush's leadership and continuing zeal after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, and in that light less important issues could be pushed aside. McCain's reputation as a moderate appealed to many voters who found Bush too hard-line conservative.
There was some speculation that McCain's longtime friend and colleague, and also the Democratic Presidential nominee, John F. Kerry of Massachusetts would ask McCain to be his running mate to help Kerry shake his "liberal from the northeast" label, but McCain rejected Kerry's initial overtures, and so Kerry never officially asked him. This prompted Bush to run an ad called "The First Choice" showing clips of McCain praising Bush. Furthermore, the GOP used this information to ridicule Kerry's eventual running mate, Senator John Edwards of North Carolina.
At the 2004 Republican National Convention, he referred to Michael Moore as "a disingenuous filmmaker" without actually naming him. This was met with thunderous applause from the audience, after which he repeated the phrase. McCain knew Moore was in attendance that evening. He was writing a column for USA today. After McCain's statement, Moore was caught on camera forming an "L" on his forehead with his thumb and index finger.
Race for President 2008
Many current polls have him as one of the leading candidates in the 2008 Republican primary, but McCain has not given a definitive answer as to whether or not he will pursue the nomination in 2008.
In an interview in the June 2005 edition of Men's Journal magazine, McCain said that he "absolutely" would like to be President of the United States, but has not yet decided whether or not he will run again in 2008. He indicated that he would probably not make a firm decision until 2007 about another run at the White House, citing family and Senate responsibilities. On an episode of television show The View, aired 8 November 2005, McCain remarked he would only make a decision after the 2006 mid-term elections, when he could be certain the mood of the American people was similar to his vision for America.
He will be 72 by the time the elections roll around in 2008, making him 2 years older than the oldest elected president Ronald Reagan, but he has dismissed concerns about his age and past health concerns, stating that his condition was "excellent."
Though popular both within the moderate wing of the Republican Party and the nation as a whole, McCain has drawn criticism from the conservative base of the Party. Despite his strong pro-life stance, his compromise with the Democrats on judicial nominations as well as his willingness to break with Party leadership and the Bush White House have led several conservative groups to strongly oppose his candidacy for the Republican nomination.
See also: U.S. presidential election, 2008
Campaign finance reform
One of McCain's main passions in his national political career has been the topic of campaign finance reform. In spite of voting against such measures initially, since 1992, McCain has repeatedly tried to pass legislation regulating campaign financing, finally achieving a major victory in 2002. That year, Congress passed a key campaign finance reform bill, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, co-sponsored by Senator Russ Feingold and hence also known as the McCain-Feingold bill. It was immediately challenged on constitutional grounds, but was narrowly upheld by the Supreme Court on December 10, 2003, in an expedited hearing and ruling.
Political views
McCain doesn't fit neatly into any one political wing. He is conservative on many military and fiscal issues, but more liberal on social issues. Some Republicans (generally social conservatives) have called him a Republican In Name Only. He once fought against funding the construction of a new aircraft carrier, saying the money should be spent on the 12,000 enlisted families who were on food stamps. He is strongly pro-life and equally strongly against tobacco. He supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq and his speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention centered around that theme. His appeal during the 2000 presidential campaign was based on honesty, style and personal image rather than any label of liberal or conservative.
Because of his quick temper and independence in the Senate, he is sometimes called a "maverick senator." He fights against pork barrel spending and supports expanded legislation on health care and education. McCain was principally responsible for forcing a re-evaluation of the USAF KC-767 leasing contract. He criticized the Pentagon several times, also about troop strength in Iraq [2], which remains a strong position of his--that troop numbers be increased in Iraq. He has also been noted for opposition to President Bush's tax cuts. His concerns over global warming and other environmental issues have also put him at odds with the Bush administration and other Republicans.
McCain has also generally supported moves to expand immigration to the US[3]-including expansion of the H-1b visa program. In 2005, he co-sponsored a bill [4] with Ted Kennedy that would expand use of guest worker visas.
McCain has announced that he supports the inclusion of intelligent design teaching in schools. [5] In 2005, McCain told the Arizona Daily Star that he believes "all points of view" should be available to students.
McCain hasn't been afraid to criticize the Bush Administration. After a controversial meeting in Kuwait, he demanded the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. However, he has been a very strong supporter of the Bush White House's decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power and their foreign policy in general.
McCain is also well known for his repeated efforts in attempting to reduce wasteful spending - pork - from the federal budget.
"The Gang of 14"
On May 23, 2005, McCain was one of fourteen moderate senators to forge a compromise on the Democrats' use of the judicial filibuster, thus blocking the Republican leadership's attempt to implement the so-called "nuclear option". Under the agreement, the Democrats would retain the power to filibuster a Bush judicial nominee only in an "extraordinary circumstance", the Republicans involved agreed to vote against the nuclear option if implemented, and three of the most contested Bush appellate court nominees (Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen and William Pryor) would receive a vote by the full Senate. See Gang of 14.
Detention of Suspected Terrorists
Main article: Detainee Amendments
Senator McCain, as a former POW, has particular sensitivity to the issue of detention and interrogation of terrorists.
On October 3, 2005, Senator McCain introduced the McCain Detainee Amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill for 2005. On October 5, 2005, the United States Senate voted 90-9 to support the amendment. [6]
This amendment would establish the Army Field Manual as the standard for interrogation of all detainees held in Department of Defense custody, including those held by the Central Intelligence Agency in the War on Terror. The amendment would also prohibit cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment and follow the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Personal
McCain lives with his second wife Cindy Hensley McCain, chair of the large Anheuser-Busch beer and liquor distributor Hensley Distributing founded by her father, [7] in Phoenix.
He has eight children; John adopted first wife Carol's sons (Doug and Andy), and he and Carol had a daughter, (Sydney). John has four children by Cindy (Meghan, Jack - Brophy College Preparatory (2004), United States Naval Academy (2008), Jimmy, and James), plus he and Cindy adopted their youngest daughter (Bridget) after discovering her in a Bangladeshi orphanage run by Mother Teresa.
He has at least four grandchildren.
Appearances on television and in movies
McCain is not afraid to appear in various entertainment mediums. He was the center of controversy concerning his cameo appearance in 2005 summer movie Wedding Crashers. While his cameo was short, he has been criticized for appearing in an R-rated movie with several scenes of brief nudity. Matt Drudge of Drudge Report, while commenting on McCain's appearance, referred to the film as a "boob raunch fest." McCain, during an appearance on the Jay Leno show, joked about "working with boobs all the time in Washington."
McCain hosted the October 12, 2002 episode of Saturday Night Live.
McCain has appeared as a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at least four times,- most recently on Novermber 8, 2005- and has also given video interviews to the program. He is a fan-favorite among the audience both for his sharp wit and willingness to speak his mind. One of his interviews with Stewart can be found on The Daily Show's Indecision 2004 DVD set.
In the 2005 documentary Why We Fight by Eugene Jarecki, McCain is interviewed and gives his opinion on the ties between Dick Cheney and Halliburton.
According to various websites, McCain is scheduled to make a cameo appearance on the fifth season of 24 from the Fox Network. There is no information regarding his role as either himself or an additional character at this time.
Works
- Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life by John McCain, Mark Salter (Random House, April 2004) ISBN 1400060303
- Odysseus in America by Jonathan Shay, Max Cleland, John S. McCain (Scribner, November 2002) ISBN 0743211561
- Worth the Fighting for: A Memoir by John McCain, Mark Salter (Random House, September 2002) ISBN 0375505423
- Unfinished Business: Afghanistan, the Middle East and Beyond--Defusing the Dangers That Threaten America's Security by Harlan Ullman, John S. McCain (Citadel Press, June 2002) ISBN 0806524316
- Faith of My Fathers by John McCain, Mark Salter (Random House, August 1999) ISBN 0375501916
- The Reminiscences of Admiral John S. McCain, Jr., U.S. Navy (retired) by John S. McCain (U.S. Naval Institute, 1999) ISBN B0006RY8ZK