American History

Is it right to describe the leading Republican in USA, John Sidney Mc Cain, as a man made of iron The current Arizona senator has defied all odds to emerge at the top of American politics and as a result, he has made a mark in politics and history of America .Right from his childhood, he has been through thick and thin and to describe him as an ordinary politician would be an understatement. America as a country owes much to the senator as its citizen and as a politician. Every one has a tale behind his success but some seem to have come from too far. Who would have said that the gentleman who almost held the last position when graduating from college would become such a great senator. Academic inability cannot condemn one to inactivity as is depicted by Mc Cain. This paper seeks to trail through his life exploring his strengths and, just like any other human being, his weaknesses.

Historical Background
John Sidney Mc Cain III was born in 1936 in Panama. His paternal family lineage has a military history and Mc Cain followed suit. His father and paternal grandfather were renowned Navy Admirals. His father, John Mc Cain II was serving as a commander in the submarine while his grandfather, John Mc Cain Senior was a Naval Aviator. They inspired him as Mc Cain puts it in his book, Faith of My Fathers, They were my first heroesearning their respect has been the most lasting ambition of my life. He stepped on the footsteps of his fathers by becoming an officer in the navy.

At the age of 9 years, Mc Cain spent long hours reading from his fathers library. His areas of interest were on those books that explored the traditional adventure. At 12, he enrolled at St. Stephens School from where he moved to a series of schools as a result of relocation of his family. At school he developed defiance, a trait that would see him through many upheavals in his life. As a result he was nicknamed a militant brat. In the year 1954, he completed secondary school education in Episcopal High School found in Alexandria and then moved to the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland. Here, he studied electrical engineering and finished in 1958, almost as the last fellow in his class. Despite his poor grades, he joined the training in naval aviation.

Promoted to a Navy Officer, he flew in combat missions to Vietnam and on October 26, 1967 a missile hit the right wing of his plane. Luckily, he was able to escape from the plane but this earned him fractured arms, shoulder and knee. He fell into a lake but it was unfortunate as a Vietnamese, his enemy, saved him and he was confronted by a crowd who stormed, beat and took him to prison. No one attended to the sick man for the first nine days and recognition of his fathers rank in the navy, led to his treatment. As an extension of this favor, he was given an earlier than usual release but his defiant character made him decline the offer. Mc Cain insisted that according to the Prisoner-of-War (POW) code of ethics of U.S., prisoners were to be released following the order of their capture.

Being an outstanding navy officer, he was numerously awarded. He received the Silver Star award, the Purple Heart, the Legion of Merit award and last but not least, the Flying Cross (Washington post, par1). He served his country through the navy for 22 years. He was promoted to be a captain in the year 1977 and retired in the year 1981.Though he went through years of terrible torture as a Prisoner of War, he survived and returned to his home country much stronger and with better goals. He served mightily in the navy but thought that he could do best in serving his country through politics (Wizner 6). Mc Cain was elected a congressman through the Republican Party in the year 1984 and won with the majority votes.

Political achievements
The recent celebrated Mc Cains achievement is that he saved the American tax payers 6 billion dollars from his campaign against a bogus contract between pentagon and Boeing Company which was aimed at purchasing mid-air refueling tankers. He started a senate inquiry that exposed the unfair dealings between the Boeing and highly ranked Air-Force Seniors and saw some of them in prison with the contract being cancelled.

Other accomplishments include support of prayers in public schools, reduction of the deficit of Gramm-Rudman bill, using lie-detector in employment, re-introducing sale of specific handguns, voting against Amendment of Equal Rights and also against extra fund budgeting forthe Clean Air Bill. In 1983, he turned against resolution of Nuclear Freeze and proposed more funding for the development of MX missile. He also supported slapping of sanctions against the apartheid South Africa going against the presidents veto. He not only opposed a move by the administrators to raise their salaries at the expense of the poor, but also disagreed with U.S. direct intervening in Central America.

Moreover, Mc Cain campaigned for veterans rights .He also worked tirelessly towards the restoration of diplomatic relations with their long-term enemy, Vietnam. His efforts bore fruit and thus on July 11, 1995 this goal was realized. Mc Cain is also known to be against pork barrel politics-spending government money to give benefits to people in a particular area so that the politician who represents that area will be more popular (Phelps and Lehman 1). He also spearheaded in the campaign finance amendment- aimed at bringing swift changes on the way of raising funds for the politicians who were vying for seats. This was to bring equality between the rich politicians and their not so well up opponents. This made him rub shoulders with republicans since he sided with the democrats on the issue.

John Sidney Mc Cain is also credited for his anti-tobacco campaign which was aimed at discouraging cigarette smoking as he advocated for tax raise on cigarettes and supported a move to prevent tobacco companies from evading lawsuits filed against them by tobacco smokers and their kin. The aim of this was to hit the target of a proposed 516 billion dollars bill. This move made the headlines in the first half of 1998. He also participated in telecommunication reforms where he pushed for the installation of internet in schools, a move which would cut the costs of satellite and cable televisions, and create competition in local telephone.

Later, in the year 1999, Mc Cain released a book, Faith of My Fathers which became a best seller. Finally, Mc Cain has fought against President Bushs cut on taxes and in addition supported the passing of the bill that sought to raise emission standards of the automobile. Though a republican, he joined forces with the democrats to advocate for check- ups on the background of people buying guns displayed at gun shows, slap a ban on gamblings as a sport in colleges and led to the disclosure of financial statement of corporations which deduct stock options belonging to the executives.

Mc Cains influence continues to be felt in the new millennium. His assertiveness came in handy especially in politics where he never failed to give his opinion on various issues. Sometimes they did not go down well with his fellow Republicans but this did not deter himfrom voicing his concerns.

Mc Cains Failures
In the year 1989, the senator faced a major political setback as he found himself among the members of the Keating five, who were involved in a saga. They were accused of trying to protect the Boss of Lincoln Savings and Loan, Charles Keating from the regulators of the federal bank after his dealings backfired, ruining his financial institution and costing the tax payers 3 billion dollars. As a result, they were generously rewarded in return. Later, the senate committee of ethics inquired into their activities and Mc Cain was declared innocent, terming it as a poor judgment on his side. This hurt his political reputation but only partially, as he vied in 1992 and was reelected despite the scandal. Mc Cain has also failed to address the issue of energy crisis that is facing U.S. He even failed to cast his vote in a senate bill that advocates funding for other energy technologies.

Many people especially outside US came to know John Mc Cain during the 2008 race for presidency between him and the current president and a democrat, Barrack Obama. Earlier, he had tried to capture the republican presidential nominee ticket but defeated by the former president, George W. Bush. Though John McCain had campaigned hard and even chosen Sarah Palin, a woman, as the running mate, he was not able to stand the Obama wave that had swept the country. One of the main reasons that are attributed to his loss is the fact that he was a republican, a party that was been associated with the economic mess that was being experienced in US at that time (White 1-2).

Conclusion
As a man who has risen to be an admirable top U.S. politician, his climb up the ladder has not been easy and he had to fight tough situations and make his way to the top. The challenges he faced only made him emerge stronger .He not only shaped the American politics but also influenced the world in a major way. As a Prisoner of War, Navy Officer, Congressman and Senator, Mc-Cains insatiable desire to serve his country has been fulfilled.