Elect My Dad! My Dad for President!

I grew up with a great Dad. He worked in a factory. He earned good money. He loved my Mom and he loved all five of us kids. He did fun things with us. He kept us in line. He taught me to love to read. I love him to pieces.

But I never knew he was qualified to be president.

After all, my Dad was a POW. He was beaten. He was starved. He was locked up. He endured horrible conditions -- freezing cold weather for days at a time. He wasn't allowed to communicate with his family. His health was damaged permanently. It was horrible.

But I never knew that qualified him to be president.

Of course, my Dad didn't talk about being a POW. For him, it was no badge of honor. It was no badge of courage. He didn't use it as an excuse. When he got angry about something, or when he forgot something, or when he broke something, Dad never said, "Yeah, but I was a POW so it's OK."

When he wanted a promotion to supervisor in the factory, he never told his boss that he deserved it because he had been a POW.

Nobody ever thanked my Dad for being a POW. Nobody held a parade in his honor, or made a video about him. After World War II, being a POW was no big deal. In fact, it was a sign of dishonor. A sign that you had failed as a soldier. And that's how Dad felt about it. He felt he was a failure. People actually said that to former POWs.

The nation did not give him a hero's welcome. After he was liberated while on a Nazi death march, he and thousands of other POWs were taken to a camp in northern France where they had to stand in line for hours to get chow -- even though many of them were sick and weak. It was a national disgrace at the time and a congressional committee investigated it.

I'm not the only person who wonders why being a POW should serve as a free pass for everything a particular politician does.

Some people who were in the same prison camp as John McCain say exactly the same thing. Read this article in the Military Times by a fellow POW who says he won't vote for McCain. He writes:

"John's treatment as a POW:

1) Was he tortured for 5 years? No. He was subjected to torture and maltreatment during his first 2 years, from September of 1967 to September of 1969. After September of 1969 the Vietnamese stopped the torture and gave us increased food and rudimentary health care. Several hundred of us were captured much earlier. I got there April 20, 1965 so my bad treatment period lasted 4 1/2 years. President Ho Chi Minh died on September 9, 1969, and the new regime that replaced him and his policies was more pragmatic. They realized we were worth a lot as bargaining chips if we were alive. And they were right because eventually Americans gave up on the war and agreed to trade our POW's for their country. A damn good trade in my opinion! But my point here is that John allows the media to make him out to be THE hero POW, which he knows is absolutely not true, to further his political goals.

2) John was badly injured when he was shot down. Both arms were broken and he had other wounds from his ejection. Unfortunately this was often the case - new POW's arriving with broken bones and serious combat injuries. Many died from their wounds. Medical care was non-existent to rudimentary. Relief from pain was almost never given and often the wounds were used as an available way to torture the POW. Because John's father was the Naval Commander in the Pacific theater, he was exploited with TV interviews while wounded. These film clips have now been widely seen. But it must be known that many POW's suffered similarly, not just John. And many were similarly exploited for political propaganda.

3) John was offered, and refused, "early release." Many of us were given this offer. It meant speaking out against your country and lying about your treatment to the press. You had to "admit" that the U.S. was criminal and that our treatment was "lenient and humane." So I, like numerous others, refused the offer. This was obviously something none of us could accept. Besides, we were bound by our service regulations, Geneva Conventions and loyalties to refuse early release until all the POW's were released, with the sick and wounded going first.

4) John was awarded a Silver Star and Purple Heart for heroism and wounds in combat. This heroism has been played up in the press and in his various political campaigns. But it should be known that there were approximately 600 military POW's in Vietnam. Among all of us, decorations awarded have recently been totaled to the following: Medals of Honor - 8, Service Crosses - 42, Silver Stars - 590, Bronze Stars - 958 and Purple Hearts - 1,249. John certainly performed courageously and well. But it must be remembered that he was one hero among many - not uniquely so as his campaigns would have people believe.

John McCain served his time as a POW with great courage, loyalty and tenacity. More that 600 of us did the same. After our repatriation a census showed that 95% of us had been tortured at least once. The Vietnamese were quite democratic about it. There were many heroes in North Vietnam. I saw heroism every day there. And we motivated each other to endure and succeed far beyond what any of us thought we had in ourselves. Succeeding as a POW is a group sport, not an individual one. We all supported and encouraged each other to survive and succeed. John knows that. He was not an individual POW hero. He was a POW who surmounted the odds with the help of many comrades, as all of us did.

I furthermore believe that having been a POW is no special qualification for being President of the United States. The two jobs are not the same, and POW experience is not, in my opinion, something I would look for in a presidential candidate.

Most of us who survived that experience are now in our late 60's and 70's. Sadly, we have died and are dying off at a greater rate than our non-POW contemporaries. We experienced injuries and malnutrition that are coming home to roost. So I believe John's age (73) and survival expectation are not good for being elected to serve as our President for 4 or more years.

I can verify that John has an infamous reputation for being a hot head. He has a quick and explosive temper that many have experienced first hand. Folks, quite honestly that is not the finger I want next to that red button."

The point is, McCain was not the only American POW. He was one of more than 600 in the prison camp he was in. Thousands more came before him and McCain's treatment was not much different from anyone else's. They just have not exploited it the way he has.

I'm sorry, but being a former POW is not enough reason to be president.

If it were, I think people should vote for my Dad. He's nicer.