Do you believe the story that he turned down being released unless all the others could be released as well, McCain?

Do you buy that?

... I'll forgive John McCain for anything he did to help himself while he was a POW, but I'll never forgive him for what he's done as a US Senator.

has been a shame.

It might not even be clear in his mind anymore.

I think he was a decent senator (for a Republican) prior to his loss to Bush in 2000. However, since then, he's been erratic and waffling between being a sane conservative and a crazy right winger.

mic what he said to cindy a few years ago.

First in, first out is well beaten into those that will be at risk...i.e. pilots.

McCain was a lot younger in 1973 and, I would hope, a lot more idealistic. Obviously, whatever idealism he had then is long gone.

. . .put forth by the senior ranking POW in the Hanoi prisons, James Stockdale.

His rule was, "No early release, we all go home together"

http://books.google.com/books?id=ClsiDxiyzO0C&pg=PA254&lpg=PA254&dq=stockdale+no+early+release+we+all+go+home+together&source=bl&ots=tL8Z7_H_fp&sig=mfL7gOuLGERagt-TS6A9C5lldsw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=rL6PU7jFMJOGqgbSz4HICw&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=stockdale%20no%20early%20release%20we%20all%20go%20home%20together&f=false


While I will not pass judgement on McCain's behavior as a POW, what he did to his first wife when he returned home is loathsome:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html

(A lot of which has since become textbook POW training), I'm glad the military no longer makes the "no early release" order.

he lost his credibility long ago

comments? Because I can't see any other reason for them. McCain continually breaks the envelope on Appalling.

and the word is mccain is a demanding, spoiled diva...

most of them are actually, I remember Barney Frank and someone walking into his office, he was very arrogant and demeaning to the interviewer at first...

our system is completely broken, i trust maybe 3 people, Bernie sanders who isnt effective legislatively, liz warren of course and grayson

there are a few more but always forget the names

AT THE END OF THE DAY, I cant judge someone who went thru what he went thru, I can judge his actions since and most of them have been pitiful...john mccain is a typical american politician, not very bright and not at all suited for the job

America's democracy, it is crumbling under the weight of selfishness. There is nothing more important than taking money out of politics, the money that pours into the coffers of the media which is now equally lustful for the cash, damn the facts.

rich by importing junk

Not terribly politically aware at the time, but was still wise enough to realize how that war had torn the country apart, and this was a genuine step toward healing those wounds.

Shame on this SOB for his staggering hypocrisy.

Is not the same man as Senator John McCain. The latter has been trying hard to defeat his demons and win that long lost war for a few decades now. The rejection of the voters in 2000 and later 2008 affected him deeply as well. It is...almost as he deserved the Presidency and was taken away from him. Deserved, but taken away first by a silver spoon who used dirty tricks and went AWOL the second was too young to serve, and yes, is a dem, and wants to end McCain's latest proxy war. There might be some racism as well.

Also there are many rumors, never confirmed, from the men who were in confinement with him. Those must be painful to no end in private moments, so he does the same to a young man forty years later. A victim if you will...of his war to win that fight he lost 40 years ago.

It is complicated, but it is a fascinating psychological exercise. McCain is almost a fictional character in some ways. But this is also part of the sickness that has infected American politics.

And for the record, I think the President did the right thing to negotiate Bergdahl's release and have no problem with the terms of the exchange as described. We get our people back. Period. And the risk posed to our rapidly declining force by these five guys (three of whom were captured within the first few weeks of the Afghan war in 2001 and one wasn't captured until after he had abandoned the Taliban and become a drug lord in Pakistan, apparently).

But there is a distinct difference between return of prisoners as part of a negotiated cease fire in which the parties all agree to a cessation of hostilities.

The simple fact is that the statement that we don't negotiate with terrorists is rhetoric not reality, as is, sadly, the statement that we never leave anyone behind (or at least that is the view of a number of Vietnam vets I know who continue to believe the country did far too little for far too long to recover MIAs left behind). The reality of war and diplomacy and all the things in between is messy. The problem here is that the repubs are pretending its not for purely partisan reasons.

It's unconscionable for anyone to claim a US soldier doesn't "deserve" to come home from enemy captivity for any reason ever. No one gets left behind, no exceptions. If he did something wrong, then bring him home and try him in military court.

Some people support the troops by screwing them every chance they get. F people like this. For the same reason they vote against veterans benefits.