Presidential profiles—McCain

Mortgage Banking, Sept, 2008 by Walter White

But his lengthy record of bipartisanship may end up being just what the GOP needs to contend with a well-heeled and financed Democratic opponent.

McCain's roots

With McCain, there is a lengthy record to review. His biography has been shaped in war and peace, and his personal story has progressed through stages from fighter pilot and prisoner of war, statesman to renegade. Throughout his journey to the Convention stage in Minneapolis, for better or worse, McCain is someone whose political style has been to openly take a stand on an issue and not leave you wondering why.

The son of a four-star Navy admiral and the grandson of a four-star Navy admiral, McCain grew up moving among naval bases in the United States and abroad. He attended Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, before graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958 and flight school in 1960.

McCain volunteered for combat duty in Vietnam, and on Oct. 26, 1967, he was shot down over the North Vietnamese capital of Hanoi and imprisoned. After his captors learned of his heritage, he received unusually harsh treatment for a prisoner of war. After his release and homecoming, McCain spent nine months in physical rehabilitation, but could not return to active duty.

Public service was McCain's calling, and in 1976 he became the Navy's liaison to the U.S. Senate. The liaison role opened McCain's eyes to a new life. In 1982, he ran for public office and won election to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Phoenix. Four years later, upon the retirement of Barry Goldwater, McCain received Goldwater's endorsement and won a Senate seat representing the state of Arizona--the position he holds today as the Republican nominee for the presidency.

The bipartisan Maverick

McCain supported the war in Iraq, yet criticized its execution. He challenged Department of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in hearings on the Bush administration's handling of the war, yet adamantly supported the "surge" strategy in Iraq and believes it has worked. Through this period, McCain has visited the Iraqi region eight times.

Appearing on NBC's Meet the Press on July 13, 2008, McCain economic policy adviser and Republican National Committee (RNC) Victory 2008 Chair Carly Fiorina said, "I think what John McCain has is a very long record of standing up to special interests wherever they are, corporate and government. And just as a, point of correction, John McCain stood up against George Bush and Don Rumsfeld in the prosecution of the Iraq war for many years and took a lot of heat from his own party for it."

McCain and Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard top executive, have been traveling the campaign trail together. Having broken down barriers to rise to the level of corporate chief executive officer at Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP), Fiorina offers an economic vantage point that few advisers can. Her rise and fall (she was ousted from the HP top job) and then her very public redemption give Fiorina insight into what it takes to battle in the public arena where perception is significantly shaped by the media.