The Commentator

Issue date: 11/3/08 Section: Opinion

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Sen. McCain at Yad Vashem

There are some politicians would give their right arm for the personal biography of John McCain: prominent war hero, dashing fighter pilot, scion of a Navy family who continued the family tradition, and a prisoner of war with a compelling story - and what a story! With broken bones, a tortured body and a battered spirit, his North Vietnamese captors offered to let him free once they discovered his father was a high-ranking admiral.

John McCain however, stuck to the code that American prisoners of war lived and died by: he would only leave once the soldiers captured before him were let go. His refusal bought him four more years of brutal torture. He didn't have to sacrifice his right arm, but he did lose the ability to raise his arms.

Maybe Rambo could match that story. But Sylvester Stallone isn't in the race. So the Obama campaign has attempted to acknowledge the heroism but belittle its relevance to the Presidency - more implicitly from Obama's mouth and more clearly from surrogates such as Gen. Wesley Clark.

Yet attempts to distinguish between John McCain's military and political behavior miss the point. John McCain is not simply (simply!) a military hero. Throughout his political career, and most particularly on the biggest issues, he has demonstrated courage to do what he thinks is right for the country when it will hurt his political career. Despite his long years in Washington, D.C. and his heroic history, he has never allowed the Beltway culture to dominate his thoughts or personality. He doesn't wink at petty corruption or speak in the tongues of the Senate. He doesn't vote for a bill before he votes against it; and he doesn't vote for something because others expect him to follow nicely and politely in line. He acts based on his conscience and what he thinks is right.

New York Times columnist David Brooks noted that though there were many talented people running for President in 2008, John McCain is "the one great man." In part due to the searing experiences as a POW, he has almost always allowed his moral instinct to overrule his political calculus.

In short, he was not only a military hero in Vietnam, but a political hero in DC.

In this vein, he is similar to two of his heroes, Teddy Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. Experienced in war and vigorous defenders of their countries' role in the world, they both emerged as dominant political figures of their time while never fully adhering to their parties' orthodoxy. The two shared a strength of character that allowed them to withstand any political pressures at home (both switched parties twice) and oppose any foe abroad (both prosecuted successful wars). And both exhibited a simple, yet powerful speaking style that established a bond with the common man and rallied their countries behind their force of will.

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