Question Of The Week: Did Señor J. Sidney McCain Have A Terrible Accident On His Flight Back To The United States From Vietnam To Warrant A Set Of Crutches?
Folks, thanks to newly-discovered, new, previously-unreleased footage of J. Sidney McCain’s departure from the Hanoi Hilton, now more than ever before we have an OBLIGATION to question the morality, integrity and character of the Arizonan Panamanian Senator. Forget Barack Obama’s so-called reference to Sarah Palin as, according to Señor McCain, a “peeg in leepsteek” (Source: The WaPo); this is a REAL issue and it removes a question or three to why such groups as the Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain would be so alarmed at the fact a man like this is just a heartbeat away from the presidency.
Judging from the still shots; one from the actual video and the other just days later; unless that was one hell of a bumpy airplane ride back home with Señor Juan Sidney McCain getting stuck in the very WORST seat imaginable in the aircraft; folks — we’re looking at a HUGE PHONY here.
Perhaps, McCain forgot to buckle himself up for the ride while all of the other veterans did and the pilot decided to show off some of his airshow skills by looping around or something like that? I mean, what in the hell happened on that flight? How did Señor McCain Para Él Presidenté become so banged up he needed a set of crutches to limp weasel his way to President Richard Nixon for his now-famous photo op? These are valid questions, folks — much more valid than those being raised by fellow weasels such as Karl Rove (Source: WSJ) or even MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann on the other side of the fence.
Seriously, for a few moments, can we just forget about Sarah Palin, lipstick, pigs, Barack Obama, and all of these other “controversial non-controversies” and take a MUCH deeper look at this “McCain” character (yes, perhaps that WAS an oxymoron) and what he really IS all about underneath that skin of his? If, indeed, the man was using those crutches for personal and political gain, it’s not only frightening and eye-opening, folks — it’s called…
“Stolen Valor“. Furthermore; it’s now against the law as well it should be.
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2:49 pm on September 11th, 2008 1
I’m a liberal, but I’m not going to bash John McCain here. If you watch the new video, it shows a man who probably was just glad to be free, but when meeting with the president, was made up to look more wounded by the president’s lacky’s, and had really little to do with McCain.
3:16 pm on September 11th, 2008 2
Point taken, however; I thought McCain was a “maverick” and I would expect an “maverick” to tell Nixon’s lackeys “Thanks but no thanks”, wouldn’t you?
3:32 pm on September 11th, 2008 3
John McCain is so far into the pants of establishment he is like a hemorrhoid.
4:25 pm on September 11th, 2008 4
wait, tom brady walked off the field without crutches?
i knew he was faking that injury…
just to screw those fantasy football owners…
don’t trust anyone over 30…
bush lied…people died…
who shot jr…?
5:04 pm on September 11th, 2008 5
I am not a McCain fan, but you are way out of line on this one. He was young, not yet in politics, so there was no maverick label. He had just undergone years of imprisonment, torture, malnutrition and who knows what else. Maybe he really needed the crutches earlier, but didn’t want to give the enemy any satisfaction. Maybe, as suggested, he was given the crutches for show. Either way, I wonder how you would have handled it.
2:28 am on September 12th, 2008 6
To Gunboat I say Bull s**t, being a vet doesn’t mean a free pass on the issue of character and everything about this campaign is about character, past, present and future. Until McCain explains the photo’s it’s a valid question.
2:35 am on September 12th, 2008 7
Oh Boy…I get it now…Sarah Palin is a definite fit for being a GOP VP and a proponent for women’s rights…especially since she’s a woman herself…ya know?!(Jerry Maguire)
ABC On Troopergate: Women’s Groups Rally Against Palin
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/11/abc-on-troopergate-womens_n_125670.html
4:53 pm on September 12th, 2008 8
GTL
Dude, you know I’m your biggest fan, and I love the whole “Panama John” thing. That said, you’re kinda out of line on this. You needed a better “twist”.I coulda gone with it if there was a “hook” Yanno? I mean, the guy was messed up worse than OBL at a NRA convention.
Don’t worry though, you’re still my favorite commie and I’ll still recommend you to my Rightwing Deathsquad Softball league.
7:18 pm on September 12th, 2008 9
I am an Army officer who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq and I wish to correct the premise that Senator McCain used crutches when visiting the White House following his release from the Hanoi Hilton because it was politically expedient. As documented, Senator McCain broke one of his arms and both legs while ejecting from his plane over North Vietnam. During the next five plus years of captivity, the Communists provided him little medical treatment. In fact, Communist doctors were unable to set his broken bones properly. The Communists attempted this only after finding out his father was the Admiral in charge of the U.S. Pacific Command and oversaw General Abrams’ effort in prosecuting the Vietnam War. Upon release in early 1973, the POWs (Prisoners of War) flew to the Philippines for medical evaluations, then repatriated back to the states. It was a month later when President Nixon welcomed him and his fellow POWs home, after they began to receive extensive care and treatment for health ailments and other problems. Senator McCain is not in crutches in his return photo because his bones improperly healed, but in he is in crutches because American doctors treated his injuries by repairing the damage the Communists were both unwilling and unable to treat.
I am concerned that the public will treat returning American veterans similarly. As we all know, injuries (whether sports, war, or everyday) often appear later, requiring treatment days later.
I am willing to continue this discussion and talk about challenges military members face returning home following a tour in Iraq or Afghanistan.
V/R
8:40 pm on September 12th, 2008 10
Airborn Ranger — thank you for your insight. I, too, am in the military and did my little stint in “The Desert” as well (SSGT in the USAF Res — IRR at this moment though)…
Please forgive me for the fact I have a VERY hard time giving any benefit of the doubt to a man who, like a mad surgeon, attacked our 1st Amendment Civil Liberty of Freedom of Speech though. It’s one thing for Obama-Biden to TALK about their disagreements with the SCOTUS concerning our 2nd Amendment Civil Liberty Right To Keep And Bear Arms; it’s yet another to create an unconstitutional law such as McCain-Feingold though.
I share your concern about the treatment of our men and women coming back from the Bush-McCain-Cheney-Palin “Holy War” once they get back to U.S. Soil. Unlike our Vietnam veterans who got spit on and called “babykillers”, I’ll never forget the nice lady at the grocery store offering to pay for a hundred bucks worth of groceries for me shortly after returning to the USA, wearing my BDU’s, coming back from work (I thanked her and said “No thanks” — looking back, I’d have let her do it because she seemed genuinely hurt I wouldn’t take her gift).
That doesn’t mean some of our fellow OIF vets and some of the Vietnam vets aren’t slimeballs as you are well-aware
12:31 pm on September 13th, 2008 11
Yes, the Vietnam War and today’s war against radical Islamic extremism (a.k.a. al Qaeda) are different, they are also the same. It is a war of ideas pitting the democratic west against an organization that wants to establish a caliphate based on Islam. This is a war we have to win; else, all of our democratic ideals will vanish, namely the 1st Amendment’s Freedom of Religion.
To your point on McCain-Feingold, I agree there are some problems with the bill, but the general premise I agree with. By limiting the contributions people and organizations can make to a campaign, it hinders one group, party, or faction from taking control, thus denying a minority rights. I refer you to the Federalist Papers 51. McCain-Feingold does this, while there are weaknesses, it is an attempt for the ordinary man, like GOV Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, to break into the “good-old boy network” and win an election, thus breaking a faction. Sarah Palin did the same thing in Alaska with her election. The law is to help the common man, if he/she so desires, to run for office.
As far as free speech, if Congress brings back The Fairness Doctrine, it will be a step backwards to the First Amendment. By requiring the media to broadcast all aspects of an arguement, it becomes governemnt intrusion. Instead, both liberals, moderates, and conservatives can seek methods to get their message out, which is the point of the 527 groups. Which is the point I disagree on McCain-Feingold. This bill threatened to remove people like Sean Hannity, Air America, and other advocay groups from getting their message out during an election term. As I recall, the Supreme Court struck down that portion (one of the few things the court has gotten right in the last 50 years). But the orginal point of the law, is to prevent a certain faction from gaining majority rule and denying the minority rights. The framers of the Constitution had it right and McCain-Feingold was an attempt to live up to the framer’s intent. It would be interesting to hear what George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Ben Franklin would have to say ob some of the current on-going debates today, like abortion…
2:19 am on September 14th, 2008 12
The last three posts were well written and thought out, nice job gentlemen. The problem with the 527’s as I see it is exactly as AR states “liberals, moderates, and conservatives can seek methods to get their message out.” The problem is the 527’s distort the messages as they see fit and the more money a 527 has the greater the broadcast of that distortion. There simply is no accountability.
I haven’t served but my father was a loader in a Sherman tank in WWII, lost a lot of friends and rolled into Dachau 8 days after it’s liberation. That buys me no props, nor should it, but it is the household I grew up in. He told me of being in San Francisco not long after coming home and still in uniform. It was raining as he walked downtown and a street cop took him into a bar and bought him an irish coffee to say thanks for serving. That story and act of kindness has stayed with me for over 40 years now. Our men and women deserve the best when they return home but from this outsiders point of view the parties treat them, you, as entirely disposable in my opinion. They talk now as though the economy is the number one issue. Not in my mind, it’s that we have people still serving overseas, the cognizance of which after 7 years appears dim in America’s mind. It makes me sick that that isn’t the central issue of this campaign. Thanks for serving, both of you. GTL I saw one of your posts on another subject, I hope your journey continues well. I’m rambling now but let me just say that those returning home deserve the best we can give them.
11:05 am on September 14th, 2008 13
That’s what I love about this place, L/C and A/R — Everybody plays nice together and everybody gets to have their say
L/C — I can guess what subject you’re talking about and yeah, it’s a day to day battle, of course. I truly appreciate your well-wishes and contributions here, and that goes for everybody who co-blogs over here with me
1:39 pm on September 14th, 2008 14
Concur that 527s do not think through their arguments and possibly distort the picture; however, in the end they present all sides of issue. The truth is probably in the middle. But I subscribe to Jefferson’s approach to government, minimla central governemnt and state’s rights, so this protects the 527’s right to espouse their veiw points, even if I disagree with them. As a pro-life Catholic, I do not support NOW’s attacks against GOV Palin, but it is their right. They just have to recognize that all women (like my wife) do not support NOW’s point of view.
As to LC’s point on the central issues in the election, all the issues are interrelated. The economy is central if you include energy. This issue connects to the Global War on Terror (GWOT) because our oil supplies around the world are threatened (Nigeria, Iram, Venezuala). The reason behind GWOT is al Qaeda’s insurgency against the western ideal of democracy because they want to establish a caliphate. While Iran is not part of al Qaeda because of religious difference, much like the difference between Catholics and Protestants, but they are in Islamic Theocracy that is influencing events in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iranian ties with OPEC provides a link to Venezuala, which is a Socialist dictatorship and American haters. With OPEC cutting oil production, they are impacting our free-market economy.
Bottomline, isolating issues for discussion leads to spurious correlations. Voters need to look holistically and see how the issues are interrelated.
Thanks for words of support…now back to NASCAR…
3:38 pm on September 14th, 2008 15
No argument with what you present in paragraph 1 AR, we just happen to be on different sides of the issue but I respect your beliefs.
As to no. 2 I agree with that also I just presented what I think is the most important issue because I think the service men and women are being slowly forgotten by the public. I also understand the interrelated nature of the issues, nothing works in isolation, Peter Block’s system theory in business applies just as well to the election and politics and world affairs. Anyone read Robert Baer’s books See/Hear No Evil? I found those to be a very good overview of the mid east and our role along with the Saudi’s etc. But then again I’m also the son of a company man.
4:59 pm on September 14th, 2008 16
cool…I am all about discussing issues…it is what the USA is about…