JOHN SIDNEY MCCAIN III: A UNITED STATES SENATOR AND AN AMERICAN HERO WHO "DESERVES BETTER...SO MUCH BETTER"

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     Sixty years ago, in 1958, a young man - the son and grandson of two four-star admirals - graduated from the United States Naval Academy and began serving our country as an officer in the U.S. Navy.  Later in his armed forces career, he was deservedly promoted to the rank of captain.  This distinguished naval aviator fought with honor and bravery during the Vietnam War.  But while on a bombing mission over Hanoi on October 26th, 1967, a Russian missile - which he once described as "the size of a telephone pole" - shot down the aircraft he was flying. Terribly and painfully injured, he was subsequently captured by the North Vietnamese.  For nearly five-and-a-half years, John McCain was a prisoner of war.

     Today, the 81-year old senior senator from Arizona is undergoing treatment as he battles an aggressive form of brain cancer.  The 2008 Republican nominee for president was diagnosed in July 2017 with glioblastoma.

     On Thursday, May 10th, 2018, one of Donald Trump's senior White House aides was heartless when a crass crack rudely rolled off her tongue while discussing Senator McCain's opposition to Trump's nomination of Gina Haspel as CIA director. "It doesn't matter, he's dying anyway."  And as this column is published, it's been nearly a week since the tea kettle began to boil and bubble over with fierce fury because of such thoughtlessness.  Meanwhile, neither the aide - Kelly Sadler - nor Trump...or any of his spokespersons...has publicly apologized for the callous comment that later was leaked to the press by multiple unidentified White House employees.

     What kind of person utters such horribly unkind words?  What sort of person adds agony to someone who is fighting cancer?

     With about two dozen staffers in the room...Sadler - a special assistant to the president - reportedly blurted out the reprehensible remark at a closed-door meeting of the White House communications team.

     Sadler claims her off-the-cuff comment was merely a joke and that she meant no harm.  But it is never appropriate to joke about another individual's impending death.

     Backbones and civility are not part of the structure of Donald Trump or evidently any of his senior advisers.  In the past, Trump offended a Gold Star mother and father whose soldier son was killed in Iraq while performing a valorous act of heroism to save the lives of troops in his command.  Trump ethnically insulted a federal judge and his Latino heritage.  He mocked a disabled reporter.  And Trump has ruthlessly mistreated women, Mexicans, Muslims, and many others throughout his campaign and during his presidency.  Therefore...to be so inconsiderate as to not offer any words of remorse for Sadler's repugnant remark paints one more ugly, black portrait of today's White House. 

     But do we really expect compassion from aides whose boss has spewed venomous verbiage since announcing his candidacy in June 2015?  Blatantly...in this administration...the rotten apples don't fall far from the Trump tree.  After all...it was July 2015 when Trump despicably belittled Senator McCain.  "He's not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured.  I like people who weren't captured."

     Denying McCain as a hero because he was "captured"...demonstrated the cruel streak that flows through Donald Trump's veins.  Has our country's current commander-in-chief - who never spent one moment in a foxhole, or...for that matter...as a peacetime military veteran - ever bothered to take a look at the list of meritorious awards that decorated McCain's Navy uniform?

     The Silver Star Medal
     Three Bronze Star Medals with Combat Valor
     Two Purple Hearts
     Two Legion of Merit Awards with Combat Valor
     The Distinguished Flying Cross
     Two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals with Combat Valor
     and
     The Prisoner Of War Medal

     Such hardware only represents a fraction of McCain's fortitude during a harrowing experience in his life.  It is his loyalty...and his love of country and family that empowered him to survive and to live a full life with dignity; a life that has earned him the respect of a nation.  John McCain the man brings pride to Americans...and we celebrate his service to our country.

     Donald Trump and John McCain never "kissed and made up" after Trump voiced his harsh view of McCain's wartime woes.  And when McCain - on the Senate floor - gestured a dramatic "thumbs down" vote last year, which killed the Republicans' efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")...that enraged Trump.

     However, after Trump's vile campaign statement about a United States veteran who gave twenty-three years of his life to military service, I - along with presumably millions of other Americans - thought there was no way Donald Trump would ever win the GOP nomination, let alone be elected president.

     I was appalled three years ago by Trump's disgraceful discourse.  I wrote, at the time, that I expected Trump to be forced out of the race within days following his odious opinion.  But his supporters couldn't care less.  And when Trump continued to taunt one person after another, the insults became a matter of accepted practice by the vast majority of Republican voters who brushed them off as insignificant.

     Are these really the Americans who are my neighbors?  I am embarrassed for the United States that so many of my fellow countrymen and countrywomen can applaud a president whose behavior is so disgusting.

     How dare Donald Trump not recognize John McCain as a hero.  How dare Kelly Sadler speak in such morbid tones about a U.S. senator who has been a Capitol Hill rock for thirty-five years.

     When Lieutenant Commander McCain was captured by the North Vietnamese, more than half a century ago, his wounds were serious...having suffered fractures in his right leg and both arms.  But that didn't matter to his captors who were beyond evil.  They added to McCain's injuries by crushing his shoulder with a rifle butt and stabbing him with a bayonet.

     McCain was taken to Hanoi's main prison where he was left, nearly naked but for his underpants, on the floor of a cell; his badly hurt body covered by a blanket. He was not only refused medical treatment, but his captors violently beat him in an attempt to gain information.  It wasn't until the North Vietnamese learned that McCain's father was a high-ranking military officer that they provided marginal hospital care to their prisoner, which McCain has in the past explained "almost killed" him.

     After six weeks of horrendous medical treatment, McCain - in December 1967 - was transported to another POW camp in Hanoi, which was known as "The Plantation" and where he shared a cell with two other Americans...both Air Force majors.  Three months later, McCain was moved into solitary confinement and he was kept there - in wretched conditions - for two years.  McCain once wrote about the ten by ten enclosure in a published piece for U.S. News & World Report.  "The door was solid.  There were no windows.  The only ventilation came from two small holes at the top in the ceiling, about six inches by four inches.  The roof was tin and it got hot as hell in there.  The room was kind of dim - night and day - but they always kept on a small light bulb, so they could observe me."

     McCain would not accept any preferential treatment because of his dad's powerful position with The Pentagon, nor would he agree to fall in to the North Vietnamese's propaganda trap when they offered him early release.  McCain would not - as the Military Code of Conduct states - "accept parole or special favors from the enemy."  Unless the North Vietnamese agreed to release every other POW who was captured before him, McCain would continue to refuse repatriation.

     Lieutenant Commander McCain - in August 1968 - became the victim of severe torture by the North Vietnamese.  Despite suffering from additional health problems, McCain was basically hogtied then bashed and thrashed every two to three hours over a period of several days.  I cannot even fathom how he survived repeated brutal abuse, time and time again, over the course of more than a year until October 1969.  Now, five decades later, McCain's injuries from the Vietnam War has left him permanently unable to raise his arms over his head. 

     Moving day came in December 1969 and McCain became the guest of the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" prison.  But his "innkeepers" restricted him to solitary confinement until March 1970 when a roommate bunked in with him.

     But going forward, the North Vietnamese rarely kept McCain in one place for very long.  From prison cell to prison cell - in drastic accommodations - McCain lived mostly away from others who were being held by these North Vietnamese savages.

     Throughout various stages of his imprisonment, McCain would go weeks, even a month, without being permitted to bathe.  His normal weight was 155 pounds, but McCain wrote in U.S. News & World Report, "In late '69, I was down to 105, 110 pounds, boils all over me, suffering dysentery."  But "aside from bad situations now and then, 1971 and 1972 was a sort of coasting period," and he "managed to get back in a lot better health"...gaining strength for his release on March 14th, 1973.

     Apparently, Donald Trump doesn't give a damn how much John McCain sacrificed for our nation?  Does Kelly Sadler?

     Trump sets the tone for his administration.  Therefore, it shouldn't shock any of us that one of his flock would conduct herself with such cold-hearted disrespect about an ailing American with terminal cancer...especially one who has given so much of his life to our country.

     Donald Trump should have been outraged by Sadler's insensitivity.  But that would require Trump to be dripping with sensitivity...and displaying that kind of emotion - is not a Trump trait.  He's just as awful as Sadler is...if not worse.

     Any other U.S. president would have denounced Sadler's words and immediately reprimanded her.  She should not only be condemned, but perhaps fired.  Yet, she still holds her job.  But when Trump himself is the personification of the "no decency poster boy" then we really shouldn't depend on one of his disciples to raise the bar.

     Politically, I am not in line with most of Senator McCain's thinking.  Regular readers of The Controversy are well aware that I identify myself as an ultra-liberal progressive Democrat.  But this is not a political matter.  It's a human matter. Anyone who uses such inhuman language should take responsibility and apologize. And so should her boss. 

     Sadler apologized to John McCain's daughter in a private telephone conversation on May 10th.  In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, May 13th, Meghan McCain confirmed that Sadler did say she was sorry for the words she used.  But I say...that isn't good enough.  What about personal apologies to Senator McCain's wife, Cindy... and to the other McCain children...and grandchildren?  And most importantly...Sadler needs to express her apology to John McCain.

     Why do some people have such a difficult time saying "I'm sorry"?  After all, we are human beings...mere mortals.  We make mistakes...and unfortunately...we...each one of us...on occasion...hurt someone's feelings by speaking something that was wrong.  Apologizing can cleanse the soul.  And even if the person on the other end doesn't accept the apology...the individual issuing it...does the right thing by doing it.  

     Donald Trump is never going to apologize on behalf of his aide.  Trump is spineless and has no courage to admit when he has erred.  Therefore, he certainly will not invest an ounce of his time to persuade Sadler to do that which he himself would never do.  So getting Sadler to stand behind The White House podium...with Trump at her side...isn't going to happen either.  But she needs to do it herself.  

     I'm a second chance - or sometimes even a third chance - type of guy.  So depending on the sincerity of Sadler's public, nationwide apology...I might consider keeping her on my payroll.  And yes, as a taxpayer, she is on my payroll.  However... if she appears to be a phony, I would demand that Trump dismiss her as a representative of "The People's House."  But Trump doesn't think he has to take orders from anybody...not even from the citizens of our land.  So no matter whether Sadler apologizes before the nation or not...firing her isn't on Trump's "to do" list. Nevertheless...Sadler's action should have consequences...and apologizing to Senator McCain and his family...as well as to the entire country...is her penitence.

     I have to wonder what our men and women - who proudly wear the uniforms that represent our armed forces - are thinking...when they salute a commander-in-chief who disrespects the hero that is John McCain.  I wonder what runs through the minds of our military service members, as they salute Donald Trump, knowing he has done absolutely nothing to punish Kelly Sadler.

     But a former three-star Air Force general showed his true colors on May 10th when retired Lieutenant General Thomas McInerney falsely accused Lieutenant Commander McCain of collaborating with the enemy by releasing military secrets to the North Vietnamese while he was a prisoner of war.  Such allegations are without substance...without foundation...without truth.  Still, on the Fox Business Network, McInerney labeled McCain..."Songbird John."

     PolitiFact confirms "there is no evidence that he (McCain) ever collaborated with the North Vietnamese."  McCain - in his memoir, Faith Of My Fathers - admitted that he told his captors, "I'll give you military information if you will take me to the hospital."  But when he was interrogated, McCain only provided his ship's name and squadron number, along with the target of his failed mission.  There were no military secrets revealed.  Instead...McCain made up stories and gave the North Vietnamese a potpourri of bogus data, including names of the Green Bay Packers football team who McCain noted were members of his squadron.  He also falsely identified cities that American aircraft had already bombed when his captors requested the locations of future targets.  In other words...McCain deliberately lied to mislead the North Vietnamese.

     When McCain ran for president in 2008, I did not support him. But I discovered in Senator John McCain, a man of class and good character, a man with dignity and honor who refused to attack his opponent with scandalous gossip and falsehoods.  

     During the campaign, at a televised Minnesota Town Hall meeting in October, a female voter in the audience questioned Barack Obama's American citizenship.  "I can't trust Obama. I have read about him and he's not...he's not...he's a, a...he's an Arab."

     Senator McCain took the microphone away from the woman and he quickly defended his Democratic challenger.  "No ma'am.  No ma'am.  He's a...he's a...he's a decent family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on, on fundamental issues, and that's what this campaign's all about.  He's not (an Arab)."

     In another instance at the same town hall meeting, a male voter acknowledged that he was "scared" of the Illinois senator.  McCain once again went to bat for Barack Obama.  "I want to be president of the United States, and obviously I do not want Senator Obama to be.  But I have to tell you.  I have to tell you.  He is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared, as president of the United States."

     Back to present times...in a May 10th tweet by McCain's wife of thirty-eight years - for which she tagged Kelly Sadler - Cindy McCain wrote..."May I remind you my husband has a family, 7 children and 5 grandchildren."

     And on the Friday, May 11th edition of the ABC television program, The View, McCain's daughter questioned how can Sadler "still have a job."  Meghan McCain was outspoken when she chastised Sadler and Lieutenant General McInerney.  "My father's legacy will be talked about for hundreds and hundreds of years.  These people?  Nothingburgers.  Nobody's going to remember you."

     ABC News and Axios were first to report on Saturday, May 12th that press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the White House communications team met on May 11th in the aftermath of the firestorm of controversy that has brewed ever since Kelly Sadler's gruesome comment in the May 10th meeting.

     A source told ABC News that White House strategic communications director Mercedes Schlapp has Sadler's back.  "You can put this on the record.  I stand with Kelly Sadler."

     But Donald Trump and his White House cronies are more concerned about who "leaked" Sadler's inappropriate comment to the press than they are about the comment itself.  Deputy principal press secretary Raj Shah told reporters at a White House press briefing on Monday, May 14th..."This is an internal matter.  We addressed it internally."  No.  This is a national matter.  And it needs to be addressed openly...before the American people.

     Meanwhile, Mercedes Schlapp's husband, conservative commentator Matt Schlapp - in a May 14th interview on NPR - argued that the leaks are worse than the phraseology.  "The bigger issue The White House has is that they can't have confidential meetings without people on their own staff leaking it.  And that is a mortal threat to the success of this agenda."  And on CNN, Schlapp stood up for Sadler and called her "a little bit of a victim."  It's astonishing to hear anyone try to assign Kelly Sadler as the "victim."

     Also on May 14th, Trump hopped on his high horse and galloped throughout Twitter.  "The so-called leaks coming out of the White House are a massive over exaggeration put out by the Fake News Media in order to make us look as bad as possible.  With that being said, leakers are traitors and cowards, and we will find out who they are!"

     There's no reason for the media to make Trump and his people look bad.  They accomplish that task all by themselves.

     I am against Donald Trump's policies.  And practically everything he stands for, I oppose.  But I have disagreed with the policies of other Republican presidents.  And - believe it or not - I have clashed with certain Democrats who have sat behind The Oval Office desk...and I've debated with some of my peers and colleagues when those political issues are not to my liking.  The difference, however, between Trump and any other U.S. president - Republican or Democrat - is his dangerous demeanor...his volatile temperament...his absence of morals...and his overall reckless nature.

     Donald Trump has no heart.  He lacks empathy towards everyone.  And he cares about nobody but himself.  And now it seems that others in his administration are following in his footsteps.
   

     Former Vice President Joe Biden - on May 11th - hit the nail on the head. "People have wondered when decency would hit rock bottom with this administration.  It happened yesterday." A longtime Delaware Democrat who served thirty-six years in the United States Senate - twenty-two of those years with John McCain - Mr. Biden described his friend as "a man of valor whose sacrifices for his country are immeasurable.  As he fights for his life, he deserves better...so much better."

     Yes.  Yes he does.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.

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