"Do not yield. Do not flinch. Stand up. Stand up with our President and fight. We're Americans, and we'll never surrender. They will. "

He Needs A New Plumber!

In January 2007 McCain had this to say in favor of President Bush's escalation plan for Iraq: "There is much agreement that the dire situation in Iraq demands a political solution. That is true. But we must also realize what it will take to enable any political solution. It is simply impossible for meaningful political and economic activity to take place in an environment as riddled with violence as Baghdad is today. Until the government and its coalition allies can protect the population, the Iraqi people will increasingly turn to extra-governmental forces, especially Sunni and Shiite militias, for protection." McCain stated his view at a Senate hearing on Iraq.

As his father and grandfather were both prominent U.S. Navy admirals (John S. McCain, Jr. and John S. McCain, Sr.), John McCain followed the same path. He graduated from the U.S Naval Academy in Annapolis MD in 1958 and had a 22-year military career. As a Navy pilot, he flew combat missions over Vietnam during the Vietnam war, and spent five years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi, Vietnam after his plane was shot down in October 1967.

The North Vietnamese repeatedly tortured McCain. To this day, he cannot raise his arms above his head, due to the severe beatings which resulted in two broken shoulders. At some points during his imprisonment, he was beaten two to three times per week. During his military career, McCain received a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit, the Purple Heart, and a Distinguished Flying Cross.

First elected to the U.S Congress in 1982, McCain was then elected as a U.S senator from Arizona in 1986. He ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, but was defeated by George W. Bush in a nasty campaign featuring a variety of lies, slanders and distortions on both sides.

McCain has earned a reputation for candor and straight talk. During the 2000 presidential primary campaign, McCain called Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson "agents of intolerance." However, in 2006 McCain described Falwell as "my friend" during a speech at Falwell's Liberty University.

McCain holds conservative views on the military and most social issues. He is strongly opposed to abortion and the use of tobacco. He supported the 2003 Iraq invasion and his speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention centered around that theme. He fights against pork barrel spending and supports legislation that will expand health care and education. He has strong concerns for global warming and environmental issues. He is against the Federal Marriage Amendment. McCain supports the teaching of "intelligent design" in schools and believes all points of view should be available to students.

Despite his earlier rivalry with Bush, he was one of the President's most enthusiastic supporters in the 2004 U.S. presidential election campaign, in part due to his strong support for the war in Iraq initiated by Bush.

McCain effectively won the 2008 Republican party presidential primary in February 2008. In the general election campaign, against Democrat Senator Barack Obama, McCain faced the challenges of trying to succeed the unpopular President Bush, the unpopular war in Iraq and a growing financial crisis. His attempts to portray Barack Obama as a "socialist" were unsuccessful, and his choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate only reinforced the perception that his team lacked depth and experience.

McCain is married to Cindy Hansley McCain, his second wife. In 2007, she had an estimated net worth of $100 million. She inherited the money from her father, who founded Hensley & Company, an Anheuser-Busch beer distributorship, in 1955. Cindy McCain became chairperson of the company in 2000.

Cindy McCain founded the American Voluntary Medical Team (AVMT) in 1988, leading several medical missions to developing and war-torn nations during the seven-year existence of AVMT. In 1994 she admitted to a painkiller addiction and said she had stolen drugs from AVMT. She was not charged with a crime, but agreed to repay the AVMT and attend a drug treatment facility.

John McCain has eight children: he adopted his first wife's two sons Doug and Andy, and had a daughter with her. Four of his children are from his marriage with Cindy: Meghan, Hack, Jimmy, and James. Plus, they adopted their youngest daughter Bridget from a Bangladeshi orphanage that was run by Mother Teresa.

John McCain Poll Results

This poll ran from January 28 to February 3, 2008.

Mondo Stars Poll Results

"The United States is a Christian nation." True 1379/68% False 655/32%

Votes: 2034      [ Cast Your Vote ]

Senator John McCain, from an interview with Beliefnet.com on October 5, 2007. McCain said "the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation."

Writing in the New York Times on October 7, Jon Meacham, the editor of Newsweek magazine, commented on the question of the Constitution: "The only acknowledgment of God in the original Constitution is a utilitarian one: the document is dated "in the year of our Lord 1787." Even the religion clause of the First Amendment is framed dryly and without reference to any particular faith. The Connecticut ratifying convention debated rewriting the preamble to take note of God’s authority, but the effort failed."

This poll ran from November 14 to 25, 2006.

Mondo Stars Poll Results

"Washington is Hollywood for ugly people." True 1508/72% False 591/28%

Votes: 2099

Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona and Vietnam war hero, speaking at a Washington Press Club Foundation congressional dinner in early 2003. McCain said "Washington is a Hollywood for ugly people. Hollywood is a Washington for the simpleminded."