(12) 1982.  In McCain's first race for Congress, rival state Sen. Jim Mack of Tempe, contacted McCain's ex-wife in hopes of collecting dirt.  McCain privately promised to "personally beat the (expletive) out of" Mack if he ever pulled such a stunt again, a threat McCain admitted to in his 2002 book.

(12) 1982.  Donna Carlson, another of McCain's 1982 Republican opponents, believes McCain holds a grudge - "forever and ever, I guess."  "I had a lot of friends in Congress at the time that I ran, and some of them supported me, endorsed me or helped raise money," said Carlson. "And he never let them forget that. He always brought it up like it was something evil they had done."

(1) 1986.  McCain confronted Robert Wexler, the head of Arizona's Young Republicans then in his 20's and exploded, according to witnesses including Jon Hinz, then executive director of the Arizona Republican Party.  McCain jabbed an index finger in Wexler's chest.  "I told you we needed a stage," he screamed according to Hinz. "You incompetent little (expletive).  When I tell you to do something, you do it."  Hinz placed his 6-foot-6 frame between the McCain and Wexler.  "John, this is not the time or place for this," Hinz said.  McCain fumed he hadn't been seen clearly by television viewers because Wexler did not account for McCain's short stature in the stage.  McCain did not talk to Hinz again for several years.

(1) Late 1980s.  McCain requested the firing of an aide to Sen. Dennis DeConcini, D-Arizona, according to two top figures in DeConcini's office.  The aide, Judy Leiby, was attending a Phoenix meeting between McCain and veterans when she rebutted a McCain assertion that DeConcini, a Democrat, favored a bill that included a cut of some veterans benefits.  "That is incorrect," Leiby said, detailing the specifics of DeConcini's position.  Afterward, McCain called DeConcini and asked he dismiss Leiby. DeConcini defended Leiby, praising her fairness and expertise.  McCain repeated his demand that Leiby be fired and DeConcini "politely told McCain to go to hell," according to a source close to the conversation, adding: "Not once in [DeConcini's 18-year Senate tenure] did another senator ask for an aide to be dismissed. Not once did anyone speak about an aide like that."

(14) 1989.  Accessible to reporters as a presidential candidate, McCain conducted an interview with the Arizona Republic.  Showing his temper, McCain insulted, cursed and hung up on reporters questioning him about involvement in the Keating Five scandal.

(1) 1989.  The nomination of John Tower for defense secretary was already in trouble when Sen. Richard C. Shelby, D-Alabama, helped doom it by voting against Tower.  A furious McCain, believing Shelby had reneged on a commitment of support, accosted him and got within an inch of his nose and screamed at him.

(11) 1991.  Before Anita Hill appeared at the Senate hearings on the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court, McCain and then Arizona Sen. Dennis DeConcini said they supported Thomas.  E. J. Montini wrote, since only Hill or Thomas could be telling the truth,  McCain and DeConcini were labeling Hill a liar without hearing her testimony.  DeConcini took the comments in stride but McCain told Montini "You are the liar," and promised "to pursue this as far as I can since I have the weight of evidence and a clear case on my side that you have assassinated my character."  McCain did not speak or correspond with Montini for the next 12 years.

(7).  1992. Three reporters from Arizona described an incident involving McCain's temper.  Wife Cindy McCain playfully twirled McCain's hair and said, "You're getting a little thin up there."  McCain's face reddened, and he responded, "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you (expletive)."  McCain's excuse was it had been a long day.

(10) 1992.  A fight in Arizona went on for years about Mount Graham, on which the federal government wanted to put a telescope.  Two respected physicians, Robin Silver and Bob Witzeman, went to meet McCain and discuss Mount Graham.  When they mentioned "Mount Graham," McCain erupted.  "He jumped up and down, screaming obscenities at us for at least 10 minutes," Silver said. "He shook his fists as if he was going to slug us."  Witzeman was stunned at McCain's violent, irrational temper. "To my mind, McCain's the most likely senator to start a nuclear war."

(9) 1992.  Dolores Apodaca Alfond expressed concern a Senate panel looking into missing Vietnam soldiers, like her brother, might shut down before it exhausted all avenues.  "I do not denigrate your efforts," McCain thundered at her. "And I am sick and tired of you denigrating mine and many other people who have views different from you."  McCain later backpedaled and admitted he may have "appeared upset."

(1) 1992.  At a meeting with Arizona officials over a federal land issue, a furious McCain questioned Phoenix mayor Paul Johnson's honesty.  "Start a tape recorder -- it's best when you get a liar on tape," McCain said to others in the meeting, according to an account of their "nose-to-nose, testosterone-filled" argument Johnson provided to reporters.  

(1) 1992.  At a committee investigating Vietnam War prisoners and those missing in action, Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, was mocked by McCain to his face and McCain used a profanity to describe him.  Grassley told McCain, "I don't have to take this. I think you should apologize." There was shouting and shoving between them, but no punches. Nebraska Democrat Bob Kerrey helped break up the altercation, according to a spectator.  Grassley said recently it was a long time before he and McCain spoke again.

(1) 1994.  McCain tried to stop a primary challenge to governor J. Fife Symington III by telephoning his opponent, Barbara Barrett, and warning of unspecified consequences should she stay in the race.  Barrett stayed in.  At the state Republican convention, McCain confronted Sandra Dowling and, according to witnesses, angrily accused her of helping persuade Barrett to enter the race.  "You better get [Barrett] out or I'll destroy you," a witness claims McCain shouted.  Dowling responded that if McCain couldn't respect her right to support whomever she chose, that he "should get the hell out of the Senate."  McCain and Dowling shouted an obscenity at each other

(4) 1998.  The Phoenix New Times in Arizona and the National Journal ran an Associated Press story reporting McCain's joke that Chelsea Clinton was ugly and Janet Reno and Hillary Clinton were lesbians.  "Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?" McCain said at a GOP fund-raiser in Washington. "Because Janet Reno is her father."

(15) 1999.  NASA administrator Daniel Goldin was called in by McCain in 1999 after a $125-million probe crashed on Mars.   "McCain went ballistic the moment Goldin walked into McCain's office," said a participant in the meeting who requested anonymity. "He was shouting and using profanity, saying he was sick of NASA's screw-ups.  It went on for a few minutes and then he kicked Goldin out of the office."  Goldin was walking down the hallway but was summoned back to the McCain's office by an aide.  "When he came back in, McCain started yelling at Goldin all over again. And then McCain kicked Goldin out a second time, before he ever said a word," the source said.

(6) 1999.  Former Gov. Jane Hull pretended to hold a telephone receiver away from her ear to demonstrate a typical outburst from McCain in an interview with The New York Times.

(2) 1999.  The Arizona Republic had not made an endorsement in the 2000 presidential race.  In an editorial:  "If McCain is truly a serious contender for the presidency, it is time the rest of the nation learned about the John McCain we know in Arizona. There is also reason to seriously question whether he has the temperament, and the political approach and skills, we want in the next president of the United States."

(6) 2000.  "Only an a------ would put together a budget like this," he told the former Budget Committee chairman, Sen. Pete Domenici.  "I decided I didn't want this guy anywhere near a trigger," Domenici told Newsweek in 2000.

(4) 2002.  In his 2002 book, "Worth the Fighting For: A Memoir," McCain said, "I have a temper, to state the obvious, which I have tried to control with varying degrees of success because it does not always serve my interest or the public's."

(13) 2003.  At a base closure meeting, McCain got into a disagreement with freshman Rep. Trent Franks, R-Arizona.  McCain repeatedly berating Franks, calling the congressman "boy" several times, standing up and pointing at him, and emphasizing that Franks should know his place.

(1) 2006. Reports surfaced of Rep. Rick Renzi, an Arizona Republican, taking offense when McCain called him "boy" once too often during a meeting. McCain aides confirm the report while playing down its importance.

(3) 2006.  A NewsMax.com article quoted former Sen. Bob Smith, R-New Hampshire: "I have witnessed incidents where he has used profanity at colleagues and exploded at colleagues . . . He would disagree about something and then explode. It was incidents of irrational behavior. We've all had incidents where we have gotten angry, but I've never seen anyone act like that."

(3) 2006.  "People who disagree with him get the (expletive)" said former Rep. John LeBoutillier, R-New York, who had an encounter with McCain while on a POW task force.  "I think he is mentally unstable and not fit to be president," LeBoutillier said.

(3) 2006.  "He had very few friends in the Senate," said former Sen. Smith, who dealt with McCain almost daily. "He has a lot of support around the country, but I don't think he has a lot of support from people who know him well."

(3) 2006.  Democrat Paul Johnson, the former mayor of Phoenix, saw McCain's temper up close. "His volatility borders in the area of being unstable," Johnson has said. ""Before I let this guy put his finger on the button, I would have to give considerable pause."

(13). 2006. "But for someone to say that McCain became just angry and yelled or raised my voice or -- it's just not true. It's simply not true," McCain said. "And so, those rumors continue to circulate about - quote - temper. They're going to have to find some concrete examples of it, and they aren't there."  Two days earlier McCain acknowledged that, "I have had a bad temper in my life."  "In my early days in office, I displayed that temper, always to my detriment.  Every time I ever lost my temper, I regretted it since then."

(1) 2007.  During a heated closed-door discussion with Senate colleagues about immigration, McCain shouted a profanity at John Cornyn, R-Texas.

(16) 2007.  Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, had an exchange with McCain over his Baghdad market photo-op. 

(5) 2008.  Sen. Thad Cochran, R- Mississippi, has known Senator John McCain for more than three decades, endorsed Mitt Romney for president.  Cochran's choice was partly driven by his fear of how McCain might behave in the Oval Office.  "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine," Cochran said about McCain. "He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."

(1) 2008.  McCain had a testy exchange in March with New York Times reporter Elisabeth Bumiller over whether he had had a conversation in 2004 with Democratic Sen. John F. Kerry about being his running mate.

(9) 2008.  "I like McCain. I respect McCain. But I am a little worried by his knee-jerk response factor," said retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, who was in charge of training the Iraqi military from 2003 to 2004. "I think it is a little scary. I think this guy's first reactions are not necessarily the best reactions. I believe that he acts on impulse."

(9) 2008.  "I studied leadership for a long time during 32 years in the military," said retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, a one-time Republican. "It is all about character.  Who can motivate willing followers?  Who has the vision?  Who can inspire people?" Gration asked. "I have tremendous respect for John McCain, but I would not follow him."

(9) 2008.  "One of the things the senior military would like to see when they go visit the president is a kind of consistency, a kind of reliability," explained retired Gen. Merrill McPeak, former Republican and former chief of staff of the Air Force.

(9) 2008.  Stephen Wayne, a political science professor at Georgetown studying the personalities of presidential candidates, agrees McCain's temperament is a concern. "The anger is there," Wayne said. If McCain is the one to answer the phone at 3 a.m., he said, "you worry about an initial emotive, less rational response."

(9) 2008.  Retired Rear Adm. John Hutson, a lifetime Republican, put it this way about facing a national security crisis: "When everybody else goes nuts, the president of the United States needs to get cooler and cooler."

(12) 2008.  DeConcini, whose relation with McCain frayed during the Keating Five period, acknowledges he is not McCain's most objective observer.  DeConcini would not support McCain for president "under any circumstances" based on temperament concerns.  "McCain's problem was that, if he didn't get his way, he'd go through the roof," DeConcini said. "I witnessed it. It's something that McCain has got to live with and tries to deal with."

(16) 2008.  Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, twice triggered the McCain temper, in spats over ethics reform in 2006.



(1) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/19/AR2008041902224.html?nav=hcmoduleMcCain: A Question of TemperamentMichael LeahyWashington Post Staff Writer April 20, 2008

(2) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991031/aponline183823_000.htmScott Thomsen
Associated Press
October 31, 1999

(3) http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/8/30/123006.shtmlJohn McCain's Temper Preceded VietnamRonald Kesslernewsmax.comAugust 30, 2006

(4) http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/1/10/182118.shtmlVanity Fair Tiptoes Around McCain's Explosive TemperRonald Kesslernewsmax.comJanuary 11, 2007

(5) http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/famed_mccain_temper_is_tamed/Famed McCain Temper is TamedMichael KranishThe Boston GlobeJanuary 27, 2008

(6) http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4301022Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?Libby QuaidAssociated PressFebruary 16, 2008

(7) The Real McCainCliff SchecterMay 2008

(8) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/03/AR2008020303242_pf.htmlGOP Senators Reassess Views About McCainPaul Kanewashingtonpost.com February 4, 2008

(9) http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/03/06/commander_in_chief/It's 3 a.m. Who Do You Want Answering the Phone?Mark BenjaminMarch 6, 2008

(10) http://www.creators.com/opinion/alexander-cockburn/the-mushrooming-clouds-that-hang-over-mccain.htmlThe Mushrooming Clouds that Hang over McCainAlexander Cockburncreators.com2008

(11) http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0323montini0323.htmlNothing here for McCain to become angry over . . . I hopeE. J. MontiniThe Arizona RepublicMarch 23, 2006

(12) http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0407mccain-grudges0407.htmlMcCain Foes, Allies Address his TemperDan Nowicki
The Arizona Republic
April 7, 2008

(13) http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0803mccain-temper-ON.htmlQuestions About McCain's Temper: Fair?Billy House
The Arizona Republic Washington Bureau
August 3, 2006

(14) http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0323keating-ON.htmlMcCain: I Learned From Keating Five CaseAssociated Press
March 23, 2008

(15) http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0522McCain22-ON.htmlMcCain Peppers Dispute with Salty WordsRalph Vartabedian and Michael Finnegan
Los Angeles Times
May 22, 2007

(16) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/opinion/03rich.html?scp=8&sq=John+McCain+Temper&st=nytAsk Not What J.F.K. Can Do for ObamaFrank RichNew York TimesFebruary 3, 2008