The Worst You Can Say About: John McCain

We here at Political Machine have noticed quite a bit of disinformation circulating about the presidential candidates. In an effort to set the record straight, we're taking a look at some of the sticky, often ugly, misconceptions circulating about Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain.

In this post, I'll be looking at some of the dubious attacks leveled at Arizona Senator John McCain.

For example, if you heard that John McCain fathered an African American child out of wedlock, you were misinformed. Furthermore, you were misinformed by disinformation put out eight years ago when McCain ran against George W. Bush in 2000. Even though it's an ancient smear, it will come up again.

After the jump--Is McCain a Manchurian candidate (hint--no)? What of McCain's wives? And what is the DNC's McCain strategy?

If you heard that John McCain betrayed America while captured in Vietnam, you probably heard a version of a smear job circulated by a group called Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain. These people even make the people who Swiftboated John Kerry sick.

As we know, John McCain was shot down over Vietnam in 1967. He was taken to the Hanoi Hilton with two broken arms, a broken leg, and a broken shoulder. His conduct under interrogation is a perfect example of why torture is not an effective means of gathering intelligence (but that's another story).

From PolitiFact.Com:

When he was later interrogated, McCain gave his ship's name and squadron number and confirmed the target of his failed mission, he wrote. He also gave the names of the Green Bay Packers' offensive line and said they were members of his squadron. Asked to identify future targets, he mentioned North Vietnamese cities that U.S. planes had already bombed.

The same group also makes the outrageous claim that McCain is now working with the Mexican Reconquista movement.

From Liberty Post.Org:

Just as John McCain has collaborated with the Vietnamese enemy, he has been collaborating with the leaders of the Mexican Reconquista movement for some time. Among other outrages, he was the keynote speaker at the 2004 annual conference of the National Council of La Raza. He told the racist crowd: "It is in our national interest to bring the 8 to 12 million undocumented immigrants out of the shadows and allow them an opportunity to become citizens of this great nation."

Another wild conspiracy theory characterizes McCain as a Manchurian candidate dedicated to carrying out the Vietnamese agenda. [Sigh.]

Moving on.

If you heard that John McCain dumped his first wife for a rich socialite who helped launch McCain's political career... well, that's pretty much true. McCain came back from Vietnam to find his wife had been in a horrific car accident. As a result, she had gained some weight. Perhaps, the story goes, her altered physical appearance was a factor in his pursuit of 25-year-old socialite Cindy Hensley, who he would soon marry, after securing a tidy, uncontested divorce from poor Carol.

The only problem is, Carol doesn't even care.

From Salon:

The real riddle in that New York Times story, and in the life of John McCain, is his ex-wife's apparent acceptance of his actions and her continuing support. Says Kristof, "No candidate could be luckier in his choice of an ex-wife than Sen. McCain, and he must be the only politician around who could cheat on his wife and divorce her and still get her support and her campaign contributions today."

It is mysterious and yet incredibly important to McCain's legend. Even the people who might have felt some outrage while reading about McCain's shenanigans were probably mollified by the fact that his ex-wife seems to be eternally supportive, even cheerful, after experiencing such incredible cruelty. It becomes very easy to forgive McCain once his wife has: Heck, if it's OK with her, it's OK with me! The whiff of impropriety, the stench of character flaw is suddenly removed. O lucky man!

McCain's second wife, Cindy, has also been smeared as a former drug addict. Between 1989 and 1992 she became addicted to painkillers. She admitted to stealing pills from a charitable organization she ran at the time. Cindy McCain was never prosecuted and allegations that McCain intervened on her behalf have never been substantiated. No worse behavior than, say, a certain popular talk show host that really dislikes Cindy McCain's husband.

If you heard that John McCain favors endless war in Iraq or that he looked the other way when it came to prosecuting the Republican Culture of Corruption, you may be hearing a version of the story put out by the DNC that blurs important details. I happen to think the DNC doesn't need to embellish McCain's Iraq positions--because they are unpopular enough on their face--but that's what political parties do.

Fact Check.Org takes a closer look at the DNC's strategy for running against McCain.