In an April 6 article, The New York Times asserted of Sen. John McCain's recent biography tour that included stops at several military institutions: "[I]t offered Mr. McCain a way to talk in a broader context about his war experience -- which he has in many ways made a central part of his candidacy, though he sometimes seems conflicted about doing so." The Times offered no evidence that McCain “seems conflicted” about discussing his war experiences or making them “a central part of his candidacy.” In addition, the Times did not note that McCain repeatedly highlighted his war experience during his failed 2000 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in addition to using it in his current campaign, as Media Matters for America has repeatedly documented, or that in 2004, while advising then-Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry not to bring up his own service in Vietnam during the campaign, McCain reportedly falsely claimed that “I didn't talk about” Vietnam because “I didn't need to.”
In fact, McCain's own 2000 presidential campaign released a biographical video of McCain that prominently featured McCain's time in the Navy during Vietnam. McCain himself appeared in the video and discussed, among other things, the "[t]hree keys to a successful survivor in a prison camp, a situation such as I and my friends were in." At the end of the video, a disclaimer noted that the advertisement was “Paid for by McCain 2000, Inc."
Additionally, media coverage of McCain's 2000 campaign demonstrates that McCain highlighted his experience as a POW in Vietnam in campaign advertisements and on the stump. The Boston Globe (accessed via Nexis) reported on March 1, 2000, that “John McCain ran a campaign ad about the Christmas sermon he wrote for fellow prisoners of war in North Vietnam 30 years ago.” And USA Today noted on January 4, 2000, that McCain ran a television ad featuring Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) “accusing [then-President Bill] Clinton of betraying the military” and “mention[ing] McCain's time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.”
Likewise, a January 31, 2000, article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (accessed via the Nexis database) reported on McCain's highlighting of his wartime experience:
McCain, who once downplayed his prisoner-of-war experiences in Vietnam, now emphasizes his military service. He pleaded with veterans at one stop yesterday to “go on one more mission” to help him win. A new campaign ad says that he is the only one in the campaign with the military experience to be president.
Reports from other media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, the National Review, The Washington Post, and Time magazine also documented the fact that McCain highlighted his POW experience during the 2000 campaign.
From the April 6 Times article:
On his campaign plane, Mr. McCain, 71, said he would caution young people against behaving as he did. “I enjoyed a lot of it,” he said, “but I didn't, I think, take advantage of a lot of the opportunities that I had by neglecting my studies at the Naval Academy and some of the other things that I did.”
Mr. McCain planned the tour to reintroduce himself to voters as the Democrats continue to squabble, and to try to paint a picture of his life and character and how that might influence him as a president. The confessional bent gave it an idiosyncratic feel. The various recollections were in keeping with his mischievous streak, which sometimes seems to relish pushing boundaries. And it offered Mr. McCain a way to talk in a broader context about his war experience -- which he has in many ways made a central part of his candidacy, though he sometimes seems conflicted about doing so.
Redemption stories play well in politics -- from Prince Hal renouncing Falstaff to become Henry V to George W. Bush, talking as a candidate about finding God, quitting drinking and maturing.
Of course, apologies, contrition and redemption have long been central to Mr. McCain's political identity.
