McCain Surging

Because “surge” is just such a cool word to use these days. Michael Goldfarb reports:

So this latest poll from ARG confirms what we’ve all been sensing for some time now, McCain is back! Was it his rendition of “Barbara Ann,” which earned him the support of MoveOn.org. Was it the speech at VMI, which set tongues wagging? Or maybe it was just that McCain flourishes as an underdog. Whatever the case, McCain now has the lead in the three states that matter most: Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

Nobody would touch him at CPAC, and even this guy -long time McCain fan- was kinda leaning Guiliani back then. Back his VMI speech won me…and no, not just because I’m so blindly in love with my alma mater.

I haven’t made up my mind yet, Maverick still has to pick his Goose…but man, I’m getting close.

What can I say? His message resonates and resonates and resonates and resonates with me. Fight the war. Win the war. Simplicity sells, methinks.

Plus, he earned an official seal of badassery during our last long war:

On October 26, 1967, McCain’s A-4 Skyhawk was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile, landing in Truc Bach Lake. He broke both arms and a leg after ejecting from his plane. After he regained consciousness, a mob gathered around him, spat on him, kicked him and stripped him of his clothing. He was then tortured by North Vietnamese soldiers, who bayonetted him in his left foot and groin. His shoulder was crushed by a rifle butt. He was then transported to the Hoa Lo Prison, also known as the Hanoi Hilton.[10]

Once McCain arrived at the Hanoi Hilton, he was placed in a cell and interrogated daily. When McCain refused to provide any information to his captors, he was beaten until he lost consciousness.[11]

When the North Vietnamese discovered his father was the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Command, (CINCPAC), commander of all U.S. forces in Vietnam, he was offered a chance to return home. McCain turned down the offer of repatriation.[12]

Interview with McCain on April 24, 1974, after his return home.McCain signed an anti-American propaganda message as a result of rigorous and brutal torture methods, which to this day have left him incapable of raising his arms above his head. According to McCain, signing the propaganda message is something he most regrets during his time as a POW. After McCain signed the statement, the Vietnamese decided they could not use it. They tried to force him to sign a second statement, and this time he refused. He received two to three beatings per week because of his continued refusal.[13]

McCain was held as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for five and a half years, mostly in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, and was finally released from captivity in 1973, having been a POW for almost an extra five years due to his earlier refusal to accept an out of turn repatriation offer. McCain was reinstated to flight status and became Commanding Officer of the VA-174 Hellrazors, the East Coast A-7 Corsair II Navy training squadron.[14].

Seems to be a fighter pilot trend in the grand old party these days. So, Vote Lex 2018 anyone?