Getting To Know John McCain

by Karl Rove - April 30th, 2008 - Wall Street Journal

. . . Col. Bud Day, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, fighter pilot, Vietnam POW and roommate of John McCain at the Hanoi Hilton.

[snip]

Mr. Day relayed to me one of the stories Americans should hear. It involves what happened to him after escaping from a North Vietnamese prison during the war. When he was recaptured, a Vietnamese captor broke his arm and said, "I told you I would make you a cripple."

The break was designed to shatter Mr. Day's will. He had survived in prison on the hope that one day he would return to the United States and be able to fly again. To kill that hope, the Vietnamese left part of a bone sticking out of his arm, and put him in a misshapen cast. This was done so that the arm would heal at "a goofy angle," as Mr. Day explained. Had it done so, he never would have flown again.

But it didn't heal that way because of John McCain. Risking severe punishment, Messrs. McCain and Day collected pieces of bamboo in the prison courtyard to use as a splint. Mr. McCain put Mr. Day on the floor of their cell and, using his foot, jerked the broken bone into place. Then, using strips from the bandage on his own wounded leg and the bamboo, he put Mr. Day's splint in place.

Years later, Air Force surgeons examined Mr. Day and complemented the treatment he'd gotten from his captors. Mr. Day corrected them. It was Dr. McCain who deserved the credit. Mr. Day went on to fly again.

There is absolutely no question that John McCain is a man of courage and integrity. He is a good man.

A little background. I find it interesting that this article is by Karl Rove. Rove is more responsible for the current shambles in the Republican Party than any other man alive. I believe he, more than any other man, led George Bush to embrace the socialism inherent in his "compassionate conservative" governing philosophy that has so violated the principles of the party. However George Bush is a good man personally. Karl Rove is a good man personally. They are smart. Yet they have misunderstood and failed to appreciate the ultimate tyranny that will transpire because of the long term consequences of their actions.

There can be no better candidate than John McCain to continue this legacy. As noted, John McCain is a good man. He is however, like George Bush, unwilling to appreciate that doing good things for short term gain can be evil in the long term. McCain is one of the authors of the McCain-Feingold act to destroy free speech in America. He is just as shortsighted on other key issues for our future, such as amnesty. However it will be necessary to support McCain in this election. The alternatives are worse. As Karl Rove's article indicates, there is much to admire about this man. However getting America back on a course that leads us away from our growing fondness for the evil of socialism will not happen on John McCain's watch.