Chicago Tribune: John McCain's "church riot" in Hanoi
A Chicago Tribune story on John McCain no one should miss
ANDY MARTIN
Executive Editor
ContrarianCommentary.com
“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”
AMERICA’S #1 POLITICAL
BLOG ON THE 2008 CAMPAIGN
OBAMA AUTHOR ANDY MARTIN EXPLAINS WHY EVERY AMERICAN CAN FEEL COMFORTABLE SUPPORTING JOHN MCCAIN
ANTI-OBAMA LEADER MARTIN SAYS MCCAIN PROVED WHAT HE WAS MADE OF UNDER THE MOST EXCRUCIATING CONDITIONS
(NEW YORK)(August 15, 2008) It's not often that reading a Chicago Tribune news story brings tears to my eyes, but a report today in the Chicago Tribune on John McCain in Viet-Nam is a must-read article for every American. It's also a reminder why any American, Republican, Democrat and Independent can feel comfortable voting for McCain.
Just a few days ago, we had the obscene spectacle of General Wesley Clark saying "McCain's being shot down was not a qualification for president," or words to that effect. I agree. The act of being shot down, standing alone, is not a qualification for anything except landing safely in one piece.
As a young ROTC cadet at the University of Illinois in the "advanced corps" on a path for a commission in the Air Force, we were lectured and taught survival training. The men teaching us had dropped bombs on Berlin, and survived. Thousands of other young men had not. We were also taught that SAC (Strategic Air Command) pilots might be making a one-way trip to the Soviet Union. John McCain no doubt received the same training at Annapolis, and later at flight school as a carrier-based pilot.
But "survival" is an abstract concept until you see your life about to slip away. At that moment, and only then, does death seem real. I also come from a military and clandestine operations family, so the concept of service to the nation was embedded in me at an early age, just as it was in McCain.
I had never heard the Hanoi "Church riot" story that appears in today's Tribune (maybe it has been published before) about McCain and the other POW's defying their captors to conduct church services. I had never read of the added punishment they endured. And I had never read about their religious observances and spiritual resistance.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-john-mccain-religion,0,1583353.story
During those dark days in captivity, McCain stared into his soul. He had to ask himself what he was made of. Like most veterans, and especially those who have seen combat, McCain is not a "rah rah" type of man. That's why the "church riot" story is so unusual. And so inspirational.
Insight and wisdom do not alight on our souls by accident. They usually appear when we least expect, in times of utter despair and desperate need. The experience of helplessness and hopelessness, and the will to survive under those conditions, made McCain the strong character he is today.
Please read the Tribune story and let me know what you think. McCain passed the test in Hanoi; he is ready to pass the test in the White House. He honored us then; he will honor us in the future. I don't agree with all of McCain's views, and in fact I disagree with many of them. But on the overarching issue of protecting the United States, and our future, I will sleep well when he is in the White House.
---------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: We are working on a response to the media hysteria triggered by Barack Obama's latest pamphlet of lies, titled "Unfit for Publication," attacking one of my competing authors. I don't make a habit of supporting my competitors because they are, after all, taking money out of my pocket. Proceeds from my book all go to the anti-Obama movement, not my personal enrichment. But because Obama's "defense" against "lies" is a new set of his own lies, I feel I should respond.
In the meantime, readers of my book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, can rest assured my work is still the only gold standard and practical handbook on Barack Obama's unfitness for the presidency. Buy it.
Book orders: http://OrangeStatePress.com. Immediate shipment from the publisher now available.
---------------------------------------------------
FULL DISCLOSURE: I have decided to oppose Barack Obama's election and have become Executive Director of The Stop Obama Coalition, http://StopObamaCoalition.com. By default, I have become the national leader of the anti-Obama movement. I am not acting as either a Democrat or Republican. I have had no contact whatsoever with the McCain Campaign. I am acting as an independent American citizen who sincerely believes Obama is not the man we need in the Oval Office. We are going to run a very dynamic and aggressive campaign against Obama. I will continue to write my columns for ContrarianCommentary.com. Because I have had no contact with any aspect of the McCain campaign, the views expressed herein are my own and only my own.
---------------------------------------------------
Watch for an Andy Martin exclusive on the PUMA Hillary for President movement. August 15th (evening edition) Exclusive to ContrarianCommentary.com and nowhere else.
----------------------------------------------------------
Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin comments on regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. His columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Andy is the author of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, published in July 2008, see http://www.OrangeStatePress.com. MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com [NOTE: We frequently correct typographical errors and additions/subtractions on our blogs, where you can find the latest edition of this release.]
A Chicago Tribune story on John McCain no one should miss
ANDY MARTIN
Executive Editor
ContrarianCommentary.com
“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”
AMERICA’S #1 POLITICAL
BLOG ON THE 2008 CAMPAIGN
OBAMA AUTHOR ANDY MARTIN EXPLAINS WHY EVERY AMERICAN CAN FEEL COMFORTABLE SUPPORTING JOHN MCCAIN
ANTI-OBAMA LEADER MARTIN SAYS MCCAIN PROVED WHAT HE WAS MADE OF UNDER THE MOST EXCRUCIATING CONDITIONS
(NEW YORK)(August 15, 2008) It's not often that reading a Chicago Tribune news story brings tears to my eyes, but a report today in the Chicago Tribune on John McCain in Viet-Nam is a must-read article for every American. It's also a reminder why any American, Republican, Democrat and Independent can feel comfortable voting for McCain.
Just a few days ago, we had the obscene spectacle of General Wesley Clark saying "McCain's being shot down was not a qualification for president," or words to that effect. I agree. The act of being shot down, standing alone, is not a qualification for anything except landing safely in one piece.
As a young ROTC cadet at the University of Illinois in the "advanced corps" on a path for a commission in the Air Force, we were lectured and taught survival training. The men teaching us had dropped bombs on Berlin, and survived. Thousands of other young men had not. We were also taught that SAC (Strategic Air Command) pilots might be making a one-way trip to the Soviet Union. John McCain no doubt received the same training at Annapolis, and later at flight school as a carrier-based pilot.
But "survival" is an abstract concept until you see your life about to slip away. At that moment, and only then, does death seem real. I also come from a military and clandestine operations family, so the concept of service to the nation was embedded in me at an early age, just as it was in McCain.
I had never heard the Hanoi "Church riot" story that appears in today's Tribune (maybe it has been published before) about McCain and the other POW's defying their captors to conduct church services. I had never read of the added punishment they endured. And I had never read about their religious observances and spiritual resistance.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-john-mccain-religion,0,1583353.story
During those dark days in captivity, McCain stared into his soul. He had to ask himself what he was made of. Like most veterans, and especially those who have seen combat, McCain is not a "rah rah" type of man. That's why the "church riot" story is so unusual. And so inspirational.
Insight and wisdom do not alight on our souls by accident. They usually appear when we least expect, in times of utter despair and desperate need. The experience of helplessness and hopelessness, and the will to survive under those conditions, made McCain the strong character he is today.
Please read the Tribune story and let me know what you think. McCain passed the test in Hanoi; he is ready to pass the test in the White House. He honored us then; he will honor us in the future. I don't agree with all of McCain's views, and in fact I disagree with many of them. But on the overarching issue of protecting the United States, and our future, I will sleep well when he is in the White House.
---------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: We are working on a response to the media hysteria triggered by Barack Obama's latest pamphlet of lies, titled "Unfit for Publication," attacking one of my competing authors. I don't make a habit of supporting my competitors because they are, after all, taking money out of my pocket. Proceeds from my book all go to the anti-Obama movement, not my personal enrichment. But because Obama's "defense" against "lies" is a new set of his own lies, I feel I should respond.
In the meantime, readers of my book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, can rest assured my work is still the only gold standard and practical handbook on Barack Obama's unfitness for the presidency. Buy it.
Book orders: http://OrangeStatePress.com. Immediate shipment from the publisher now available.
---------------------------------------------------
FULL DISCLOSURE: I have decided to oppose Barack Obama's election and have become Executive Director of The Stop Obama Coalition, http://StopObamaCoalition.com. By default, I have become the national leader of the anti-Obama movement. I am not acting as either a Democrat or Republican. I have had no contact whatsoever with the McCain Campaign. I am acting as an independent American citizen who sincerely believes Obama is not the man we need in the Oval Office. We are going to run a very dynamic and aggressive campaign against Obama. I will continue to write my columns for ContrarianCommentary.com. Because I have had no contact with any aspect of the McCain campaign, the views expressed herein are my own and only my own.
---------------------------------------------------
Watch for an Andy Martin exclusive on the PUMA Hillary for President movement. August 15th (evening edition) Exclusive to ContrarianCommentary.com and nowhere else.
----------------------------------------------------------
Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin comments on regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. His columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Andy is the author of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, published in July 2008, see http://www.OrangeStatePress.com. MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com [NOTE: We frequently correct typographical errors and additions/subtractions on our blogs, where you can find the latest edition of this release.]
posted by Andy Martin | 1:30 PM
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