...But McCain also broke under torture. His captors refractured his bones, bound him in what are now known as "stress positions" by Bush administration overseers of torture, and beat him. After a failed suicide attempt, McCain signed and taped a confession of his war crimes. That would be enough for rightists to pounce on his war record far more effectively than General Wesley Clark did.
"When he faced the biggest challenge of his life, John McCain failed himself and his country," the commercial would say. "A navy flier, John McCain made one mistake: getting shot down. He made a bigger mistake when he gave his captors more than his name, rank and serial number. McCain cracked. He confessed to war crimes, slandering US fighting forces and our nation in a propaganda film made to order for the North Vietnamese communists."
Then they'd trot out a Vietnam-era veteran (or a guy who looks the part) to say, "I was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, but I didn't betray my country and my comrades in arms the way John McCain did. America's enemies may want a traitor and a coward as our next president but I sure don't. So I won't vote for John McCain."
Too much? Look at what the right did to Democratic nominee John Kerry in 2004, who won a Silver Star and Bronze Star for his Vietnam service. Karl Rove bragged, "When we get finished, people won't know which side he fought on in Vietnam," and it worked. The attacks on Kerry succeeded in part because his opposition to the war after his service raised questions. Attacks work best in areas of existing doubt, and it's not unreasonable for the conflicting ideas of war hero and POW to make voters a fuzzy about McCain's military service.
much more, here. nasty, but true
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/JG29Aa01.html
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
