Many times throughout this election, the McCain/Palin Campaign have asked the question, who is Barack Hussein Obama?  I think it only fair to lay out just who exactly John Sidney McCain is...  There's a lot of information out there on the history of John McCain if people would bother to look for it.  A lot of what we think we know about McCain is overblown.  The "Maverick" persona, the P.O.W. and the moralist who is anything but moral.

Early Life:

Formative years and education

John McCain was born in 1936 at Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone, Panama, to naval officer John S. McCain, Jr. (1911–1981) and Roberta (Wright) McCain (b. 1912).^[2] At that time, the Panama Canal was under U.S. control.^[3]

McCain has Scots-Irish, Anglo-Irish and English ancestry.^[4] His father and his paternal grandfather both became four-star United States Navy admirals.^[5] His family, including his older sister Sandy and younger brother Joe,^[2] followed his father to various naval postings in the United States and the Pacific.^[6] Altogether, he attended about 20 schools.^[7]

In 1951, the family settled in Northern Virginia, and McCain attended Episcopal High School, a private preparatory boarding school in Alexandria.^[8] He excelled at wrestling and graduated in 1954.^[9]

Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, McCain entered the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. There, he was a friend and informal leader for many of his classmates,^[10] and sometimes stood up for targets of bullying.^[5] He also became a lightweight boxer.^[11] McCain came into conflict with higher-ranking personnel, he did not always obey the rules, and that contributed to a low class rank (894 of 899), despite a high IQ.^[10][12] He did well in academic subjects that interested him, such as literature and history, but studied only enough to pass subjects he struggled with, such as mathematics.^[5][13] McCain graduated in 1958.^[10]

Education: THE TRUTH

Like his father and grandfather, McCain enrolled in the United States Naval Academy. There, he earned over 100 demerits. His reaction was that it was "bullshit."

But it was in his off-base activities that McCain truly excelled. According to one classmate, "being on liberty with John McCain was like being in a train wreck." It is unclear what being with McCain during his presidency would be like for the nation. Unfortunately, America has no direct experience from which to draw with a president who was a temperamental son of a distinguished military man and who in college was a temperamental fuckup who liked to party. What could possibly be so dangerous about that?

McCain graduated from the Naval Academy in 1958, ranked 894th out of 899. As historians have noted, there were five people in his class who were actually bigger fuckups than McCain, but none of them are running for president.

McCain, commissioned an ensign, spent two and a half years training as a naval aviator in Pensacola. There he earned a reputation as a party man, drove a Corvette, dated an exotic dancer named "Marie the Flame of Florida," and, as he would later say, "generally misused my good health and youth." But at least when it came to flying, he took his responsibilities seriously.

Just kidding. He didn't care about those either -- he was a below average flyer, and couldn't be bothered to read his aviation manuals. But, as many noted partying experts have asked, what good could possibly come of reading manuals? It's not like one might have a situation in which one's plane would quit while landing and crash into Corpus Christi Bay, or be flying too low in Spain and take out some power lines, or crash while en route to Philadelphia for an Army/Navy football game.

 THE TRUTH is John McCain didn't take his studies seriously and was only a "Maverick" in that he finished 894th out of a Naval Academy Class of 899. Watch McCain admit this:

McCain's First Marriage: THE TRUTH

McCain The P.O.W. - THE TRUTH

McCain and The Keating Five: THE TRUTH

McCain and his volatile temper and anger issue: THE TRUTH

 Anger seems to run in the family.  Joe McCain (brother) and his now famous 911 call this week.

It is hardly uncommon for a man of personal charm also to be personally pugnacious, and McCain's temper is legendary. We at the [Orange County] Register experienced it in an editorial board meeting some years ago when the senator blew his stack over some issue so minor we have forgotten what it was. Matt Welch illustrates with a number of examples that McCain is most likely to explode when a criticism can be taken as a personal affront (which he does more readily than most) and, most significantly, contains a strong element of truth. He also shows that from an early age McCain was frequently looking for a fight, eager to show he was a tough guy.

McCain, the consumate Flip/Flopper: R.I.P. Tim Russert, you are missed.

MORE TRUTH

 Thanks to my OS friend Julie Tarp for this clip:

This next clip is perhaps the greatest case of hypocrisy in this ill-run, ill-conceived campaign. "I am NOT George W. Bush". NOT THE TRUTH

John McCain: He REALLY associates with terrorists: THE TRUTH

 John McCain DOES believe in sitting with dictators: THE TRUTH

The private meeting between McCain and dictator Pinochet has gone previously un-reported anywhere.

According to a declassified U.S. Embassy cable secured by The Huffington Post, McCain described the meeting with Pinochet "as friendly and at times warm, but noted that Pinochet does seem obsessed with the threat of communism." McCain, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee at the time, made no public or private statements critical of the dictatorship, nor did he meet with members of the democratic opposition in Chile, as far as could be determined from a thorough check of U.S. and Chilean newspaper records and interviews with top opposition leaders.

At the time of the meeting, in the late afternoon of December 30, the U.S. Justice Department was seeking the extradition of two close Pinochet associates for an act of terrorism in Washington DC, the 1976 assassination of former ambassador to the U.S. and former Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier. The car bombing on Sheridan Circle in the U.S. capital was widely described at the time as the most egregious act of international terrorism perpetrated on U.S. soil by a foreign power.

At the time of McCain's meeting with Pinochet, Chile's democratic opposition was desperately seeking support from democratic leaders around the world in an attempt to pressure Pinochet to allow a return to democracy and force a peaceful end to the dictatorship, already in its 12th year. Other U.S. congressional leaders who visited Chile made public statements against the dictatorship and in support of a return to democracy, at times becoming the target of violent pro-Pinochet demonstrations.

Senator Edward Kennedy arrived only 12 days after McCain in a highly public show of support for democracy. Demonstrators pelted his entourage with eggs and blocked the road from the airport, so that the Senator had to be transported by helicopter to the city, where he met with Catholic church and human rights leaders and large groups of opposition activists.

Mark Schneider, a foreign policy aide and former State Department human rights official who organized Kennedy's trip, said he had no idea McCain had been there only days before. "It would be very surprising and disappointing if Senator McCain went to Chile to meet with a dictator and did not forcefully demand a return to democracy and then to publicly call for a return to democracy," Schneider said.

McCain's visit with Pinochet took place at a moment when the Chilean strongman held virtually unrestricted dictatorial power and those involved in public, democratic opposition were exposed to great risk.

McCain's presence in Chile was apparently kept as quiet as possible. He and his wife Cindy arrived December 27 and traveled immediately to the scenic Puyehue area of southern Chile to spend several days as the guest of a prominent Pinochet backer, Marco Cariola, who later was elected senator for the conservative UDI party.

The trip was arranged by Chile's ambassador to the United States, Hernan Felipe Errazuriz. According to a contemporary government document obtained from Chile, Errazuriz arranged for a special government liaison to help McCain while in Chile for the "strictly private" visit, and described him as "one of the conservative congressmen who is closest to our embassy."

Errazuriz also arranged the invitation for the McCains to stay at the farm of his wealthy friend, Marco Cariola, according to Cariola, who did not know McCain previously. The McCains spent the three and a half days fishing for salmon and trout and riding horses. The area is one of Chile's most beautiful tourist attractions, with dozens of crystal clear lakes and rivers surrounded by luxurious estates such as the Cariola farm where the McCains were staying.

On December 30, McCain traveled back to Santiago for a 5 pm meeting with dictator Pinochet, followed by a meeting with Admiral Jose Toribio Merino, a member of the country's ruling military junta.

McCain's meeting with Pinochet in 1985 are described in a U.S. embassy cable, based on McCain's debriefing with embassy officials:

"Most of his 30-minute meeting with the president, at which foreign minister [Jaime] Del Valle and a ministry staff member were present, was spent in discussing the dangers of communism, a subject about which the president seems obsessed. The President described Chile's recent history in the fight against communism and displayed considerable pride in the fact that the communist menace had been defeated in Chile. The President stressed that Chile had stood alone in this battle, and complained that United States Foreign Policy had left them stranded. The congressman added that talking to Pinochet was somewhat similar to talking with the head of the John Birch Society."

Other than to describe the warmth of the encounter, the cable does not contain any account of what McCain said to Pinochet. There is no indication that the subject of human rights or return to democracy was raised with Pinochet. At this time in history, Pinochet was overtly ostracized by most world democratic leaders because of his refusal to move toward a restoration of democratic, civilian rule.

A second declassified U.S. diplomatic cable refers to a letter from then-U.S. Ambassador Harry Barnes giving further detail of McCain's meeting with Pinochet.

From his meeting with junta member Merino, however, McCain passed on an tidbit of political intelligence that the embassy found useful. "The most interesting part of the conversation, according to the congressman, was Merino's statement that he and other members of the Junta had recently told Pinochet that he should not expect any support from the junta if he should decide to be a candidate for president in 1989."

In fact, three years later Pinochet was defeated in a plebiscite in which he was the only candidate, and free elections a year later restored democratic government. A healthy list of U.S. congressmen traveled to Chile in support of the transition to democracy, including Republican Senator Richard Lugar. McCain, by then a first term senator, did not return to Chile.
In addition to the Chilean document and the U.S. cable cited above, at least four other declassified documents refer to McCain's meeting with Pinochet and his interest in Chile.

McCain campaign press office said no one was available to comment on the story.

Former ambassador Errazuriz, reached by phone, said repeatedly "it is not true" that McCain met with Pinochet, that he would have known about it if it had, and that the state Department cable was possibly a fabrication.

On September 11, 1973, Army General Pinochet led a bloody coup that overthrew the democratically elected government of President Salvador Allende. The four-man military junta that seized power bombed the presidential palace, padlocked the congress, outlawed all political activity and actively persecuted its opponents. Pinochet remained in power until 1990 and in 2006 he was charged with 36 counts of kidnapping, 23 counts of torture and one count of murder. He was spared a trial for health reasons and died at age 91 in December 2006.

The Next War President - THE TRUTH

For anyone asking the question, "Who is John Sidney McCain", I hope they now have a better understanding of this man.

PROLOGUE: As and addendum to the above portrait of John Sidney McCain, I would like to recognize and add a piece done by my OS friend O'Stephanie.  Thank you Stephanie, I am indebted to you for this piece.

McCain successfully fought the Truth Bill put forward by POW/MIA families and activists which sought to fine and imprison anyone who knowingly blocked information from the families of these men. He said it would “chill” the ability of the government to hire people to work in the POW/MIA office. The following year, he sponsored what is even now known as “The McCain Bill”, an amendment to the Missing Service Personnel Act which effectively gutted the bill and shut down the freedom of information act in relation to these men by erecting a bureaucratic nightmare maze.

When he was faced with evidence from the 1970s through the 1990s that POWs still remained alive in captivity, he said the evidence was not conclusive. This, even though a man's full last name scratched into a hillside can be plainly seen in a satellite photo. The official word was that this was “vegetation and shadows”. The outside photo expert working as a Pentagon contractor resigned saying, “If grass can spell out people's names and a secret digit codes, then I have a newfound respect for grass”. (sic)

In testimony before the House Subcommittee on Military Personnel, Carol Hrdlicka, wife of MIA David L. Hrdlicka, takes McCain to task. Here is an excerpt of her testimony, complete with her own capitalization:

“What agenda could Senator McCain possibly have to "STRIP" the Missing Service Personnel Act of all it's protection for service members who could possibly end up in captivity as he did? Why would Senator McCain want to protect men that have LIED TO THE FAMILIES?

“A group of family members tried to hand letters to Senator McCain to ask that he NOT MAKE these changes and he refused to accept our letters. Senator McCain stated on the Senate floor that the families and the veterans agreed with his amendment. Nothing could be further from the truth -- in other works that is a LIE. Senator McCain does not speak for the families nor does he care what we want. Senator McCain won't even meet with the families or accept our letters.”

Heroes sacrifice themselves for those they love, and John McCain is no exception to this. The love and fellowship he should have felt for these forgotten men he transferred to the seven succeeding White House administrations which wanted this embarrassing episode buried beyond discovery.

The 614 men and women who were abandoned in the jungle camps of Vietnam were heroes. John McCain is not worthy to walk in their exalted company.