McCain's parents dunked 2 year old John in cold water to "cure" his intense temper tantrums...

Historians point out that it's not unusual for a president to have a fierce temper, but most knew how to keep it under control.

"Harry Truman wrote scathing letters, but he almost never sent them," said author Robert Dallek.

"George Washington spent a lifetime trying to control his temper," added historian Richard Norton Smith.

But Washington didn't have YouTube replaying videos of his tantrums, nor did he have to make decisions about nuclear weapons.

At age 2, McCain's tantrums were so intense that he'd hold his breath for a few minutes and pass out. His parents would dunk him in cold water to "cure" him, he wrote in his memoir, "Faith of My Fathers."

"I have spent much of my life choosing my own attitude, often carelessly, often for no better reason than to indulge a conceit," he wrote. He conceded that some of his actions have been embarrassing, and "others I deeply regret."

He was a tough little guy. At Episcopal High, he was a 114-pound wrestler classmates called "Punk" and "McNasty."

Richey, though, noted that such monikers weren't unusual in those days. "There was a tremendous amount of sarcasm in the way we talked to each other at Episcopal," he recalled. "That's the way we all talked to each other."

McCain, Richey said, "was not looking for a fight. He was feisty."

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