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What Veterans Think of McCain

David Botti

As the only combat veteran among the remaining presidential candidates, John McCain has a unique relationship to the current generation of vets cycling home from the fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan. What do veterans think of McCain? Are they inclined to hold him in higher respect, or follow his candidacy with a more critical eye? Can he count on their vote, or does he need to work twice as hard to assure them his plan for Iraq is the right one?

VoteVets.org (which lists Gen. Wesley Clark on its board of advisers) has a prominent feature linked off the homepage titled "Senator McCain's Real Record on the War in Iraq." The gist of their bullet-pointed argument is that Sen. McCain's policy toward the Iraq war is too closely aligned with President Bush. Among other points, VoteVets.org maintains:

McCain echoed Bush and Cheney’s talking points that the U.S. would only be in Iraq for a short time.

McCain said winning the war would be “easy.”

Senator McCain has constantly moved the goal posts of progress for the war – repeatedly saying it would be over soon.

Senator McCain opposed efforts to end the overextension of the military that is having a devastating impact on our troops.

In January VoteVets.org chairman Jon Soltz addressed the issue of Sen. McCain's military service:

John McCain is a true war hero, and we all respect his service. I don't doubt for a second that he cares for our troops. But, every time he opens his mouth, I'm less and less convinced that he realizes how dangerous his off the cuff words would imperil our men and women in harm's way, and our national security, if he said them as President.

Earlier this month the San Jose Mercury News took a look at a group of veterans gathering at a California American Legion hall to cheer on Sen. McCain. Doug McNea, a 60-year-old Navy veteran, told the paper he admires the connection Sen. McCain can make with veterans of all wars:

Having spent time in the military gives you a better appreciation and more respect for people serving in the military," said Doug McNea, a 60-year-old Navy veteran about McCain, who would ultimately win the California primary. "It gives you a better understanding of the sacrifices that veterans make and the long periods of family separation.

Stories of veterans connecting with McCain are all over the local papers as they poll vets at VFW and American Legion halls across the country. Mark Hemingway of the National Review Online took a look at McCain's relationship with veterans on the even of the Michigan primary. Hemingway argued that as a historically tough voting bloc to pin down, veterans may prove useful to McCain. Citing the traditional blocs of female, minority, and evangelical voters, Hemingway looks to see how veterans fit in to the vote-gathering scheme. McCain spoke frankly to Hemingway on this issue:

“I think longtime observers will probably tell you that it’s hard to mobilize the veteran voting bloc. I think it might be different this time because of the obvious difficulties with the Veterans Administration health-care system. In all my elections, I’ve had strong support from veterans, but the percentage of their voter turnout has been on par with the rest of the population,” McCain said. “Today, I think veterans are more motivated because of the wars we’re in and the strains on the veterans system. I see more engagement, and frankly, from a selfish point of view, I hope that means we see greater veteran turnout.”

Air America interviewed IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff last week on McCain's recent vote against extended Army interrogation standards to the FBI and CIA. His words show that despite tremendous respect most people have for McCain, he is not infallible in veterans' eye:

John McCain voted against it. And I think that’s a critical vote. If he is against torture and I was hoping we were going to have two candidates who were against torture across the board, this was a vote that may come back to hunt him; this is a really troubling vote. I mean, I’ve been talking with some veterans in the last couple of hours and I can’t tell you how disappointed they were to see that McCain voted in this direction.

For a great look at how McCain's military service has shaped his career, take a look at NEWSWEEK's recent cover story.

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Member Comments

Posted By: Karenn1 (March 5, 2008 at 9:58 AM)

Wet start McCain on Forrestal carrier heard some rumors on the internet. May be true,don't we want to know. I personally don't trust him something is not right about him.Even other republicans have mention this.

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Posted By: tronandlori (February 27, 2008 at 5:08 PM)

How can anyone say "It really doesn't matter what vets think. It's the rest of the American people, especially Democrats & Independents who are turned off Obama. We'll all voting for McCain."

You are just as RUDE as you are DELUSIONAL! It is a typical rude, selfish republican response to not care about what the vets think! Who is fighting this war, Bush? McCain? You?

Also typical is your delusional belief that you are in a majority with the rest of the people, especially democrats and independents who are turned off Obama. HELLO, have you read a paper or watched tv? The MAJORITY of the people, democrats and independents, are supporting Obama.

McCain is a hypocrite and a liar and he will be revealed as such, but ignorant ones like you will always vote for the liars, the hypocrites and the delusional republican candidates that think that what is good for them is good for the rest of the world.

Maybe you should ask a veteran what is really going on over there. Oh, I forgot, you don't care, as long as your cowardice behind is safe here in the US hiding behind the likes of McCain chanting about how patriotic you all are.

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Posted By: lamm01 (February 26, 2008 at 1:15 PM)

It really doesn't matter what vets think. It's the rest of the American people, especially Democrats & Independents who are turned off Obama. We'll all voting for McCain.

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