Is John McCain Ready?

Since Senator John McCain of Arizona first ran for president in 2000, the mainstream media has presented him as a heroic former prisoner of war, a formidable military expert, and a courageous maverick who ignores party and talks straight. This image of McCain embodies a lot of truth: McCain’s sacrifices during the Vietnam War earned him a spot in America’s pantheon of champions. His bucking of the GOP to defend John Kerry against the Swift Boaters in 2004 evoked virtue uncommon in politics. His honesty in bracing Michigan voters for a permanent manufacturing decline justified for a moment the “Straight Talk Express” slogan of his campaign bus.

But this picture of McCain is far from complete. The mainstream media has demonstrated a peculiar reluctance to finish the portrait, which when whole raises questions about Senator McCain’s fitness for the presidency. Thanks to the Internet, though, concerned citizens can join together to bypass the media and fill in the blanks it chooses to leave. That’s what we at “Is John McCain Ready?” will do regarding the 2008 Republican presidential candidate.

Let’s start adding to the painting of McCain the media leaves unfinished:

• For all of McCain’s heroics during his military career, he developed a scant command record, involving just one assignment at a Florida air base, as McCain recounts in his autobiography Worth the Fighting For.
• Despite McCain’s few noteworthy displays of political independence, he has usually been a reliable Republican. The American Conservative Union gives John McCain a 82.3 percent lifetime rating. And McCain supported President Bush 95 percent of the time in 2007.
• Whereas McCain portrays himself as a straight shooter, McCain has actually flip-flopped on many of his defining issues. If John Kerry was untrustworthy for changing positions, then what about John McCain?
• Even though McCain frequently touts his foreign policy judgment, he has usually shown overconfidence, confusion, bluster, impulsivity, and callousness when discussing world events.
• Regardless of his pledge to run a clean campaign, McCain has resorted to base attacks on his opponent, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, mocking the Democrat’s popularity, questioning his patriotism, assassinating his character, implying Hamas supports him, etc.

Of course, Senator McCain is not the Antichrist (albeit the tendency of some of his supporters to so label his opponent). And anyone suggesting McCain was brainwashed as a prisoner of war or tarnishing his family’s honorable tradition of military service is beyond contempt.

But Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike must start to wonder, is John McCain ready to be president?

-Jason Vines, Founder and Webmaster

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