In his recent stump speeches, McCain makes a big deal about being "tested." In fact, McCain and company jumped all over what they (and the media lemmings) claimed was a gaffe by Joe Biden -- (paraphrasing) that early in his presidency Obama would be tested  by some agent and would be able to demonstrate his "spine of steel."

McCain played all three roles in the political version of the Nairobi Trio* -- Hear No Truth, See No Truth, Speak No Truth -- refusing to acknowledge that every president is tested by something unexpected in one way or another. (Kennedy, Cuban missile crisis; Johnson, assassination of Kennedy; Nixon, Vietnam and Soviet agression; Ford, an unexpected ascendancy to the Presidency and Watergate's aftermath; Carter, the economy; Reagan, Iranian hostage crisis; Bush I, economy; Clinton, WTC bombing, Somalia, Branch Davidians; Bush II, September 11). A President Obama will face a crumbling economy, two wars, skyrocketing debt and deficits, and a nation almost as divided as the years preceding the civil war -- thanks in part to the divisive politicking of McCain and his "Gal Friday," Sarah Palin.

But McCain sticks to his claim of having "been tested, my friends." Ri-i-i-i-i-i-i-ght. Exactly when was that, Senator?

McCain, thinking he's ready for that question offers up his version of the Cuban missile crisis: "I was in my plane on the deck of the aircraft carrier Enterprise." Okay.... but Senator, pardon us for noticing you were merely one of hundreds of thousands of men and women in uniform on full alert during that time -- like my dad. And Senator, you were not called upon for your advice or consent to do anything with regard to the Russians and missiles and Cubans and the President, were you? No. You were standing by, waiting for orders from your Commander-in-Chief, John F. Kennedy.  Sorry, but you weren't tested then.

McCain, goes on to suggest that he was "tested" by his time in a North Vietnamese prison camp. With all due respect, you were tortured, but not tested as a Commander-in-Chief. You were not the Secretary of Defense, nor the President. That was Robert McNamara and Lyndon Baines Johnson. It was the President who ordered you and hundreds of other military pilots to "bomb North Vietnam back to the stone age," as Gen. Curtis LeMay said (and years later Dick Cheney parroted with regard to Iran and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.) You again, sir -- with all due respect -- followed orders to bomb Hanoi. That was not a "test."

When you returned from Vietnam, and entered Congress and later the Senate, you were a member of a Senate committee charged with answering questions, releasing information and providing an account of the whereabout of what many believe -- with good reason -- were the hundreds of US soldiers and civilians left behind in Vietnam. Senator John Kerry, a fellow Vietnam vet, was the chairman of this committee. Once again, you failed to lead.

Respected journalist and author Sidney Schanberg ("The Killing Fields") has a blistering report in a heavily researched article at the Nation Institute about your time as a POW, your involvement in the "The McCain Bill," (a piece of legislation designed to keep classified any and all information about prisoners held in Vietnam and Laos.) It is worth the read (and Kerry gets scuffed up a little, too.)

The synopsis of the article is that the US estimates of prisoners in Vietnam and Laos were at least 1200 in Vietnam and 300 in Laos. The North Vietnamese made no real secret of their intent to withhold some of the prisoners to be used as bargaining chips for war reparations at the end of the fighting. When the prisoners were released, 591 came home from Vietnam and 10 -- yes, ten (nine military and one civilian) -- from Laos.

What  happened to the rest? Modern folklore leads you to believe "Rambo" or Chuck Norris "Left Behind" scenarios. Families of the missing and unaccounted for have reports of locator codes being used to attempt to notify the various intelligence agencies of service members needing to make their escape. Schanberg's article is detailed and worth the read for that part alone.

But it is McCain's role in shutting down all information about the missing men and any attempts to find them that is chilling. Why would a man who purports to "support the troops" and "put country first" not want to do anything to determine the whereabouts, dead or alive, of any of his fellow service members who were last seen behind enemy lines? The recent story that made a small wave on the internet about McCain shoving a woman in a wheelchair concerns these hearings.

McCain -- to the best of our knowledge -- has never been called to the Situation Room at the White House to help make any decisions with regard to any of the crises this country has faced during his time in Congress or the Senate. McCain has not served as a cabinet officer to any President since he been in Washington, D.C. 

So the only place McCain has been tested is in his personal and very solitary dreams of glory. Like the wannabe singer who "performs" each night in front of the bathroom mirror, hairbrush microphone in hand, to throngs of adoring, albeit invisible fans, McCain's claims of "tested leadership" are simply the stuff of make believe.

This year, we simply refuse to play along.

*Those of you of a certain age, or with a penchant for classic, early television will recall the brilliant Ernie Kovacs and his zany cast of characters, including a trio of "monkey" musicians whose antics are simply priceless. Watch them here.