Setting the stage for the Republican convention, the Washington Post ran a special eight-page section with a profile of John McCain, more than 10,000 words long, by writer Michael Leahy, titled “A Navy Life Foretold.” Toward the end, after more than 9,000 words, Leahy mentioned, without laboring over them, three near-catastrophes McCain had as a pilot. Reporters should look into these incidents. They should do so soon, and not wait until just before the election, or after it. It’s unusual for military pilots, let alone presidential candidates, to have so many mishaps in a relatively short career of flying What do they tell us, if anything, about McCain’s judgment, ability and character?
The first incident occurred during flight training in Texas in 1958. As Leahy described it, McCain, “working on his landings one day…felt his engine die and, within seconds, was plummeting into Corpus Christi Bay.” He was momentarily knocked out, then regained consciousness and was able to escape from the cockpit.
The second occurred two years later. McCain had completed flight training and was deployed to the Mediterranean. “He was flying low one day when he decided to have some fun,” Leahy wrote. He dropped so low that he knocked down power lines over southern Spain, cutting off electricity in the area. McCain later referred to his own behavior as “daredevil clowning” and said he had created “a small international incident.”
The third came in 1965. McCain, stationed at Norfolk, flew solo in a Navy trainer plane to the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia. On the way back his engine quit. McCain ejected, landed safely and the plane crashed into a wooded area.
Since McCain has made his military and POW service such an integral part of his justification for the presidency, seems like he would have no problem releasing details of the above. Right?
