I've made it clear that there are many things on which I disagree with John McCain. That said, I respect him for his time as a Vietnam POW. Some folks are trying to undermine the heroism he showed while a prisoner.

Supporters of Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Tuesday assailed a two-page attack mailer sent to newspaper editors across South Carolina that claims McCain turned on his fellow POWs to get better treatment while he was a prisoner in Vietnam.

"Nothing could be further from the truth. I know because I was there," Orson Swindle, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel and former prisoner of war, said in a statement about the mailing from a group called Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain.

"The deceitful smear tactics by such fringe elements as Vietnam Veterans Against McCain must not be allowed into the political process. We are a better people than that, and those responsible should be denounced," said Swindle said.

I was not in Vietnam – indeed, I was 10 years old when John McCain and his fellow heroes came home. I would be inclined not to give the story much credence because I know the media would have searched out negative information about him before now.

But to me, the best evidence on McCain's behalf is the lengthy list of former POWs who have given him their support. For me, I need to see only one name on that list, Capt. Richard Stratton, to know that McCain's time as a prisoner was marked with honorable conduct. After the war, my father served with Dick Stratton, and our families became friends. And I will say today, three decades later, that my knowledge of Stratton's integrity is sufficient to reassure me of McCain's on this point.

The time has come for all Americans to reject such attacks on John McCain.

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Posted by: Greg at 12:57 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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