Posted on 08/20/2008 6:13:29 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
The McCain campaign is reacting angrily to a debate raging in the blogosphere about whether the GOP presidential candidate could have embellished or even appropriated his oft-told anecdote about connecting with one of his hostage-taker guards in Vietnam over their shared Christian faith. A McCain spokesman has now posted quotes from two of the candidate's fellow POWs who, the campaign says, have confirmed that McCain told them long ago that the guard drew a cross in the dirt as a sign of Christian solidarity.
McCain told the story most recently on Saturday night, at the Saddleback Civil Forum hosted by Rick Warren of Purpose Driven Life fame:
"The Vietnamese kept us in prison in conditions of solitary confinement, or two or three to a cell. They did that because they knew they could break down our resistance. One of the techniques that they used to get information was to take ropes and tie them around your biceps, loop the rope around your head and pull it down beneath your knees and leave you in that position. You can imagine it's very uncomfortable. One night, I was being punished in that fashion. All of sudden the door of the cell opened and the guard came in. The guy who was just -- what we call the gun guard -- just walked around the camp with the gun on his shoulder. He went like this and loosened the ropes. He came back about four hours later and tightened them up again and left. The following Christmas, because it was Christmas day, we were allowed to stand outside of our cell for a few minutes. In those days we were not allowed to see or communicate with each other
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
There is more proof that Larry Sinclair had sex with Obama than any of the wild speculation that goes on in the left-wing blogosphere.
that’s nothing compared to Gitmo! Gitmo man! /s
there is also wild speculationall over the place that the Clintons have masterfully setup Obama at the Convention... and by setup I mean “setup”
These are the people who adore Hillary Clinton (e.g., landed under fire,brought peace to N. Ireland etc.) and Barack Obama (pick a lie, any lie, he tells more every day).Their abiding love of truth is being offended by McCain?
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/08/18/pow-i-remember-mccain-telling-the-cross-story-in-1971/
POW: I remember McCain telling the cross story in 1971
"It may be typical of the pro-Obama Dungeons & Dragons crowd ..."
Priceless.
Is he a MSM "Journalist" type or just an OBAMA BUTT BOY?
Ive also read the “gulag archepeligo”,,and “a day in the life” and I don’t remember that story, but yes, of course it could *easily* be something he wrote somewhere, and if so,,so what? Here’s why, even if Solzhenitsyn DID tell a similar story that happened to him, is it simply THAT fantastic to believe something like this could have happened more than once? In an oppressive place, someone remembers their deepest childhood religious value, and shows a small sign of kindness? I’d go so far as to say it’s not even that rare. If you were a chistian, and saw another christian person suffering just because of a war or a government. I bet a lot of people would think of that. Its hard to prove though, because unlike Clinton making the stones on Omaha beach into a cross, it’s usually not choreographed and captured on film.
and just for giggles, Gulag was written WHILE he was in captivity. It was first published in the west in 1973,,,the year McCain was released. This clearly proves that McCain was either reading soviet era samzidat in the Hanoi Hilton,, or that the minute he was released from 5 years of communist prison decided to curl up with a good long book about prison, Pleeeeease DU.
And another thing,, Stories like this will continue to truly happen, even more and more as the story gets told again and again. I read a wonderful book who’s name escapes me, but it was about a KBR Haliburton convoy truck driver captured in Iraq. His muslim captor quietly treated him with kindness on a few occasions *specifically* because he respected a christian who wouldn’t renounce his faith. We all know the stress of war makes good people do evil, that they cannot later believe they did,, BUT it also makes some very ordinary people act as brave as hell, and to even risk their very life to show compassion for the other side sometimes. It saddens, but doesn’t surprise me a bit, that the KOS and DU would know very little of the feelings and ethos of men at war, on either side.
RNC: McCain Won’t Choose Abortion-Supporting Running Mate
Real Change ("Catholics don’t stop being Catholic at the voting booth.")
McCain and Obama try to navigate the politics of abortion
Obama and McCain Woo Catholics
Editorial: At the Saddleback Forum, Senator McCain and Pastor Warren took the Gold
Religious Voters Favor McCain, Poll Claims
Sen. McCain holds private meeting with Archbishop Chaput
John McCain's Remarks on Abortion in Speech to National Pro-Life Convention
McCain campaign plans ‘very aggressive’ outreach to Catholic voters
McCain Meets with Selected Catholic Leaders
Its a sad state of affairs when McCain’s story as a POW is believed fake, but Obama’s abortion views are off the table. I just find it amazing how a REASONABLE look at Obama’s record causes all sorts of whining.
That said, this line of attack on McCain is a loser tactic and will not work.
It breaks my heart because I loved his mind and his early defense of the Right.
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