John S. McCain III – Vintage Photos
Sunday, September 28th, 2008 | Power & Politics, Under The Patina of Knowledge
I spent some time looking around the Library of Congress’s online catalog today and found these great images of a much younger and possibly more idealistic John McCain.
The color images show Senator McCain with President Reagan during a 1987 photoshoot shortly after his Election to the Senate in 1986. Notice the placard on Reagan’s desk that says “It CAN be done” …
The B/W images were taken in 1973 by Thomas J. O’Halloran for U.S. News and World Report for an article written by Senator McCain shortly after his return from the POW camp in North Vietnam. The article is quite amazing and after reading it, even the staunchest progressive couldn’t help but honor the man’s sacrifice. Click here to read it.
As the Lt. Commander McCain points out, he missed both Martin Luther King’s assassination as well as the Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon while imprisoned. Any news he eventually did receive was filtered through the lens of the Vietnamese’ negative propaganda machine.
So, of MLK, he heard only of riots and strife following the assassination and not of the national solidarity that ensued. This would be like someone today hearing only of the racists beatings of Arab Americans following the WTC attacks and not of our outpouring and grief and compassion for the innocent victims of all wars.
I wonder if Senator McCain’s brainwashing influenced legislative decisions he’s made regarding civil rights and making MLK day a national holiday. More pertinently, would his brainwashing influence the decisions he would make if elected president?
-Tonky
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