Dowd: McCain "Cheapening" POW Experience

NY Times:

My mom did not approve of men who cheated on their wives. She called them "long-tailed rats."

During the 2000 race, she listened to news reports about John McCain confessing to dalliances that caused his first marriage to fall apart after he came back from his stint as a P.O.W. in Vietnam.

I figured, given her stringent moral standards, that her great affection for McCain would be dimmed.

"So," I asked her, "what do you think of that?"

"A man who lives in a box for five years can do whatever he wants," she replied matter-of-factly.

I was startled, but it brought home to me what a powerful get-out-of-jail-free card McCain had earned by not getting out of jail free. ...

So it's hard to believe that John McCain is now in danger of exceeding his credit limit on the equivalent of an American Express black card. His campaign is cheapening his greatest strength -- and making a mockery of his already dubious claim that he's reticent to talk about his P.O.W. experience -- by flashing the P.O.W. card to rebut any criticism, no matter how unrelated. The captivity is already amply displayed in posters and TV advertisements.

Read the whole story: NY Times

Comments

[pcplz]

05:45 PM on 08/25/2008

By the definition of torture voted on by McCain himself...­........he wasn't tortured during his confinemen­t...just intensivel­y interrogat­ed.

[Nonamnesiac]

05:06 PM on 08/25/2008

I think in praising McCain's war prisoner record, which on its own does not qualify a guy whose class rank was 894 out of 899 when he graduated war college at Annapolis to be President, it is important to note that in addition to his courage, he also made many propaganda films for the Vietnamese­. Many P.O.W.s did not make propaganda films for the Vietnamese­.

McCain was more in league with Bill Ayers than Obama was, as Obama was just a little kid at the time, somewhere between 8 and 12 years old.

[heal57]

04:22 PM on 08/25/2008

Even the other POWs who were with McC do not want him to be Prez; that should say it all plus the fact that 40 years ago has no relevancy on today being the leader of the US.
It's the economy, stupid! You don't get points to break all the rules because of what happened 40 years ago. The last thing we need in office is another macho warmonger. Enough already. Go Maureen!!!

[chancher]

03:42 PM on 08/25/2008

Dowd is absolutely on target. Being imprisoned and tortured does not constitute qualificat­ion for the Presidency­. Perhaps Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, of 9/11 fame, should be the Emir of Kuwait (his country of birth), given his imprisonme­nt and torture at the hands of the Bush Administra­tion.

[TroubleNYC]

02:03 PM on 08/25/2008

Noun, verb, POW

[rcpmac]

03:41 PM on 08/25/2008

Speaking of plagiarism ;)

[drd1044]

01:21 PM on 08/25/2008

I'm sure that Mrs. Dowd's parish priest told her that adultery is not a mortal sin if you were a POW.

[TrooAmerican]

01:08 PM on 08/25/2008

Thank you for Stating that.

Being a POW however courageous it is, is not the same as being qualified to be president.­..i.e. make good decisions for Americans. Being POW does not = immune to criticizm or = immunity to Morals and values, and lack of integrity. Being a POW does not guarentee good character or wisdom. Being a POW does not make it ok, to tell people you are running for President 'because its the final prize" back in 2000, as opposed to running for any noble purpose.

[blowhard]

01:07 PM on 08/25/2008

Hey Maureen,
when can we get together. I love M I L F s.

[antaeus]

12:41 PM on 08/25/2008

Who cares what Tallulah Bankhead thinks?

[CocteausTwin]

11:09 AM on 08/25/2008

Ms. Dowd is one of the few remaining decent things about the N Y T.

[Aabby]

01:08 PM on 08/25/2008

YUP.

[gtt]

03:03 PM on 08/25/2008

Exactly right !

[Destin]

04:55 AM on 08/25/2008

How come he never mentions the confession he was forced to sign in which he admits to being a war criminal? While I realize that he was probably beaten into the situation, still, if he wants to glorify any part of it for his political gain, then let's bring out ALL of the dirt on the subject.

[partyofone]

06:18 AM on 08/25/2008

Why does no one ever ask about the enduring psychologi­cal effects? Is McCain's legendary temper a result of internaliz­ed anger from that experience­? Is his obsession with military victiory in Iraq reflective of a need to re-fight Vietnam and win? Shouldn't there be some discussion of these issues before McCain is given the command of our military?

[Destin]

02:05 PM on 08/25/2008

Excellent comments that I agree with. I'm sure there is quite alot of angst going on in McCain's head. And probably explains his hardcore obsession to go against anyone who he thinks is a repeat of the 60's protesters (who i'm sure he blames for what happened to him, and for the stigma of a seeming loss in that war). So by coming out against the Iraq War, he probably thinks it's another 60's movement.

I can understand if he does have angst. Hell, I probably didn't go through 1/10th of what McCain did. I was never a POW. But what little I did go through, I have ALOT of angst and what I consider "unfinishe­d business" myself. Difference between me and him is, is that I'm not trying to hold the innocent people accountabl­e like he is. I realize that it wasn't the "hippies" or protestors­, or those 4 innocent souls at Kent State, who were in any way a problem. The problem was then, and is now, THE GOVERNMENT­. I saw that first hand while I was in the military, and later as a civil servant. We, the people, are not the problem, as McCain believe. We are the solution, and now that he's in government­, defending the very government who put him in his POW position, he is horrified of it as much as he is of being considered doing something wrong.

[foxbat33]

03:50 PM on 08/25/2008

I agree that experts should be looking into possible psychologi­cal effects from his POW experience­. He constantly keeps referring to that experience­, which suggests to me that this is not normal behavior. Why are his medical records not available?

[olgraydawg]

02:23 PM on 08/25/2008

Is beating the same as torture? Was signing the paper treason? Is breaking the law a crime?What else can POW's do. Was this a Hogan's Heroes type of deal no one wanted to leave?. HQ 5th Marines, Da Nang 1964/65.

[alphax]

03:24 AM on 08/25/2008

The "get-out-o­f-jail-fre­e card" McCain has also means he never has to wear a flag pin!

[gentilhombre]

02:50 AM on 08/25/2008

Multiple Choice test:

In the case of John McCain POW means:
Prisioner of:
a. War
b. Wealth
c. W ( Dubya)
d. Wife
e. All of the above.

[Wirehedd]

01:14 PM on 08/25/2008

I'll choose E

[lthuedk 1]

02:25 AM on 08/25/2008

http://www­.light-to-­dark.com/f­inger_pupp­ets.html

[supergranny]

01:55 AM on 08/25/2008

"Dancing Queen" by ABBA? Grounds for disqualifi­cation alone!
That highly disturbing song has such a sugary sweet, empty, worthless, shallow message, oh wait, that is the GOP message.
But I beg you all to hear the true hidden message...­.The fact that it was manufactur­ed by those socialist loving borderline communists the Swedes is even more telling. What is McDinosaur­'s real agenda? Is he a true American or a brainwashe­d Taliban operative? CIA field workers have documented the Taliban listening to Dancing Queen when they do their drag shows.
Perhaps a more serious question: What is Mitt's favorite song? "Lola" by Barry Manilow? Same vintage, same subversive message. What about Rudi? "The Candyman" Sammy Davis Jr.?