John McCain, son to an admiral, grandson to an admiral, went to Annapolis as a legacy. Just like George Bush J.R. went to Yale as a legacy. Both finished at the very bottom of their class, the “dregs” one might say.  Now we all know what happened to the latter silver spoon dolt. What about the former? Even though he was at the bottom of the barrel in his class, he miraculously got a plumb assignment flying. Obviously the only way someone that dumb (or just lazy) gets an assignment like that is to be the son and grandson of admirals. During McCain’s illustrious career, he’s managed to crash 4 planes and was seated in one that exploded on the deck of a carrier.

First crash, Corpus Christie bay.  Engine failure, according to our top gun. The mechanics that removed the engine after fishing it out of the bay say “no engine failure”. Ok, it happens to everyone right? (no one ever comments on the closed head injury from being knocked unconscious during that crash) Second crash was the result of flying too low and taking out a set of power lines. At this point, anyone else would have lost their wings and that would have been the end of it. Not for Johnny Mac. Nooo, crash number 3 came on the return flight from an Army-Navy football game. This time, he failed to relight the engine and ejected at 1,000 feet. Apparently, no one over at the Navy cares that one of their pilots has crashed 3 aircraft. According to one of his instructors, “He had no real ability and was clearly out of his element in an airplane, and way over his head even as a junior naval officer."   I guess they figured ‘ol Johnny was a good guy (read, “son of an admiral”) so let’s put him into combat. He can’t even manage to keep a plane airborne so let’s send him into combat now.

The final crash is where McCain started choking on his silver spoon.  Shot down in Vietnam, he then spent five and a half years in the custody of the North Vietnamese. The NVA were decidedly unkind people. He was tortured and made to produce propaganda. He was finally released. He’s a bonified war hero. I would agree that living like that for 5 years is heroic.

Now 5 years later, he stopped choking on his silver spoon. Didn’t spit it out mind you, just stopped choking. Had McCain been anyone else, he never would have gotten into a Navy cockpit. Certainly wouldn’t have been allowed to destroy 3 Navy aircraft with no consequences. No, he would have been pumping gas in Jersey.  McCain’s trials ended up being the product of his life of privilege.

John doesn’t like to talk about it. Actually he likes to say that he doesn’t like to talk about it. Currently, he seems unable to have a conversation without mentioning it. Of course, he’s running for president. Strange thing is, and this may go back to the head injury, he uses his trauma to deflect things like not knowing how many homes he owns. Wesley Clark was exactly right when he said that McCain’s POW experience has nothing to do with being qualified for the presidency. Like Rudy who can’t have a conversation without saying 9/11, McCain is now becoming incapable of not dropping his POW status into the mix.  A noun a verb and POW, to rephrase Senator Biden’s comments about Rudy.  Sadly, John McCain’s answer to everything is military force. Even when his vaunted General Petraus tells him that the diplomatic approaches need to be in place before the military solution could work, John comes out not too long after that hearing and says exactly the opposite and quotes the almighty general as the source. (again, are we seeing the results of a head injury here?)

In closing, John McCain served his country but crashing 4 aircraft and being held as a POW doesn’t give him any special skills to be the President of the United States of America.