Fineman: McCain Is Trivializing His POW Past

Once a remarkable and respected aspect of his biography, John McCain stands on the brink of "trivializing" his past as a prisoner of war, which has become a "crutch in the campaign," Newsweek's Howard Fineman declared Thursday.

"I think they are going to it way too many times. It's the original story that defined John McCain, that still when you read it in his book 'Faith of my Fathers,' when you read about it in 'The Nightingale's Song,' you can't help but have admiration and respect for the guy. And I think he wisely for many years stayed away from it as a political tool, he really did. But now it not only defines him, it's become a crutch in the campaign. And I think he is in danger of trivializing it. By the time they get to the convention in St. Paul, there might not be much of it left to use."

Fineman's remark, made during a segment of Countdown With Keith Olbermann, came after McCain was criticized for being elitist for not knowing how many houses he owned. An aide to the Arizona Republican hit back at the accusation by evoking McCain's service in Vietnam.

"This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years -- in prison," said spokesman Brian Rogers.

As the Huffington Post documented earlier, Rogers' statement is just one of several recent instances of the McCain camp playing the POW card.

Earlier this week, for instance, amidst speculation that McCain may have received advance notice of questions at a values forum, spokeswoman Nicole Wallace declared, "The insinuation from the Obama campaign that John McCain, a former prisoner of war, cheated is outrageous."

When Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former Senator John Edwards, ridiculed McCain's health care policy, his aides didn't respond with a substantive retort. Rather, they declared that their boss knew what it was like to get inadequate care "from another government." Even earlier, when the topic was about earmarks, McCain criticized Sen. Hillary Clinton for proposing funds for a museum celebrating Woodstock. He didn't know what there was to celebrate, he said, because he was "tied up" during the music festival.

Comments

[karela]

Well, they tell us McCain is way too honorable to cheat because former POWs never do that, but we do know that he's not too honorable to lie. It was proven today that he and Cindy "created" the personal Mother Theresa appeal to take a baby to the states at a time when Mother Theresa wasn't in the town, or even the country, where Cindy claims to have talked to her. All that was added for the 2008 campaign. Anybody who would try to politicize a deceased Mother Theresa and a birth defect baby is a worm. Don't talk to me about honor John. You've forfeited the right.

[Daly]

Priest are pillars of church, honorable still a good number of them lied, cheated and covered up horrific sins.

McCains honor is self bestowed; many were killed listed on a memorial wall honorable?
Others were prisoners too but we do not hear them demanding we treat them special.

What of the greatest generation Heroes? They are still a good number of them around ; McCain plans to show them his respect by cutting their VA benes.

[ibsteve2u]

Once upon a time I said about Fred Thompson:

"Take away his height and his deep voice, and what have you got left?".

Sadly, I would ask of McCain:

"Take away his POW history, and what have you got left?".

[TerryOakland]

And now he's a Prisoner Of Wealth.

[Donk]

Good one! And a lckey to lobbyists...

[Donk]

Good one! And a lackey to lobbyists!

[Skandal]

Of course, it never bothered hypocrites that the previous Democratic nominee, Kerry, was 10 times richer than McCain.

[Rick K]

It did, however, along with the undermining of HIS military background, get him ousted in his White House bid.

[Charmed]

It's not about McCain being rich...it's about the fact that He didn't know how many houses that he has. He mixes up things all the times, he is to old to be president. We have to many problems for him to just go sit in the oval office to order the draft back up.

In other words "why is McCain being testy"

[Daly]

Mc is poor as a church mouse; Cin dee on the other hand is good gosh rich ; she knew when she married him, the way she got him that he was a fool even then and not to be trusted with $. He even has to get permission to use the plane and she is with him more often than not.

If you get a man by hook or crook ya better watch him like a chicken hawk - Where is Vicki Issman?

[JiminNC]

noun - verb - pow

[Mildmannered]

yeah, he POW'ed that excuse, didn't he. Works nicely as a verb

[Meggie]

That's true, but also as much as he brings it up, he fails to mention the hundreds of other Vietnam POW's and seems to pretend that he's something special.

[ynot4tony2]

Duh. He IS something special, just like every other person who served this country, including John Kerry.

The difference is, Kerry attacked his fellow soldiers and accused them of war crimes with no evidence to further his political career.

And he threw his/someone else's medals/ribbons in protest. Or something.

[BethStuart]

I worry that McCain is so disconnected from his own campaign that he may not even know how often his handlers are invoking his pow status in order to dismiss any criticism. Of late, McCain's campaign seems defined by them with his involvement limited to reading his lines or repeating his talking points.

As his number of gaffes increases, he is becoming more sequestered by them. I have seen this before in the case of vice-presidential candidates like Spiro Agnew and Dan Quayle but this is the first time I have seen it in a presidential candidate.

[lanshark]

You are 100% right. The ultimate proof was when McCain insisted that “everything has to be on the table” including a possible payroll tax increase on Stephanopoulos show, only to be contradicted by his own campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds on FOX News. Apparently McCain doesn't speak for his own campaign.

Then his campaign has also cut back on McCain's cell phone privileges:

"Mr. Schmidt has sought to cut down on Mr. McCain’s use of his cellphone and limit the people who have regular access to Mr. McCain in an effort to keep him more focused, advisers said." (from the NYT). Apparently McCain is easily influenced by the last person he's talked to and then walks off the reservation.

The last thing this country needs is another undisciplined and immature person as the POTUS.

[sacrebleu]

"POW" is to McCain what "911" was to Giuliani, hopefully with the same disastrous results.

[MichelleB]

That is a good one!!!!!!!!!!!

[Newjack]

PUSH THIS STORY PLEASE!

[HamletsMill]

But McSame "knows how to win wars" because he was a POW. He knows how. No one else on Earth knows. Only him. Because HE WAS A POW he has Divine Powers my friends.

[AllenD]

If a Democrat was running as a former POW, the Republicans would accuse him of being French for "surrendering" to the enemy.

[Danny]

Is "my friends" beginning to irritate you as much as it does me?

Another "irritation", the supposed Hillary "supporters" who are going to vote for McSame, if she isn't the chosen V-P. Sounds like media B.S. to me.

[Unrepentant]

Sounds like BS to me too.

[edwarvir]

Why should he use the fact that he was a POW to win the White House.
He has shown such poor judgement by throwning it up in our face over and
over again. He loves to tell war stories, for example the story about the cross
I don't believe it really happened to him. There are so many young men and
women who served this country honorably and for that I am grateful, but have not
sang a chorus of " I was a POW . My goodness! Some of these kids did not
come back alive. He's alive , and in fairly good shape. I am tired of hearing
these war stories and of him trying to captialize on it . . Enough with the WAR.

Tell me about what you are going to do with this economy. Food prices are through
the roof and we are back in the day with Warmonger Johnny. I want to know how
I can keep my child in college live in my house and eat without working three
jobs. That is my concern. Today......I don't want to hear about Senator O either, I
want to know what YOU are going to do about America's problems....

[Jazz42]

McCain.
Has been using being held a prisoner as long as I can remember. He need to get over it. (Pathetic)
my comment will probably get deleted again. If it is deleted. It want change my opinion. It will just show how all news MSM oulets are slanted toward McCain.

[Danny]

Next he'll twist the "Keating Five" scandal as something to be proud of. Or the fact that he didn't vote for veterans' benefits legislation -- "Let them eat cake!". Or the circumstances surrounding his separation from his first wife ... Dems can play dirty, too.

[TXOBAMAGIRL73]

Nobody needs to trivialize his service, he is doing a great job all by himself. People are starting to take notice everytime there's a fub or fib it's Pow this Pow that...

[singer1poet]

As a service member with over 18yrs in, I can truly say that this is a crying shame!! Military service is an honor, not a "get out of jail free" card. When Gen. Clarke made his comment a couple of months ago, he was RIGHT ON THE MARK. If being a POW qualifies one for being a President, then there would be a helluva lot of other qualified candidates out there! I don't know, but this is really becoming a disgrace. I would never purposefully use my affiliation or service as a military member for personal gain or to raise the level of perception that others have of me.

[Freesia2]

Salute of respect to you. (And thank you for your service.)

There's something I've always noticed about men with are respected, soldier or civilian. They don't announce that they deserve respect. The respect comes without demand, just from the way they conduct themselves. They have dignity. They're not for sale. They don't make themselves bigger by making someone else smaller. They can be trusted on a handshake.

And I think it's often exhibited brightest and best by a military man. I think that may be one of the classes McCain skipped at the Naval Academy. Or as my husband (former Air Force Sgt.) once put it in a moment of disgust, "he was too busy studying his navel".

[Rick K]

Thank you. It is difficult for civilians to kind of "check our internal compass" on this.

Your perspective is very valuable.

[PoliticoJonze]

He has already trivialized it. He's USED it what 7-8 times now for various reasons...

Barack Obama honors it more than the McCain Camp does. Obama always says "I honor McCain for his service in the Military and his heroics as a POW" at basically every stump speech. If only the McCain campaign strategists paid even that much respect to it. To them it's nothing more than a catch-all defense or a "Get out of tricky political situation Free" card...

[fignozzle]

he (mccain) has cheapened it, using it in this instance, to where i do not think he should allude to it ever again.
this was sooo offensively cheap!
hurray for fineman and kO!