John McCain, former POW and senior senator from Arizona, is the Republican candidate for president this year. He was born on August 29, 1936, at Coco Naval Air Station in the area of the Panama Canal. Joseph McCain Jr., his father, was a four-star admiral of the US navy. His mother was named Roberta. The second of three children, John McCain’s early years were spent I various naval bases in and abroad from the US. He graduated from Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1954. In 1958, he graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1958, and then proceeded to finish flight school in the year 1960.
When the Vietnam War occurred, John McCain immediately volunteered. He flew low-altitude bombing runs on North Vietnam. On July 29, 1967, he was nearly seriously injured when a missile accidentally exploded on the USS Forestall, the fires and explosions resulting from the bomb killed 134 people. On December 9, 1969, the day of McCain’s 23rd bombing run, he was shot down over Hanoi and broke both arms and a leg. Taken as a prisoner of war, he spent five and a half years in various prisons, three and a half of which were solitary confinement. He was beat and tortured frequently throughout his stay. Although he was repeatedly offered early release, because they found out who his father was, he refused because he would have violated the US military code of conduct. When he and his fellow prisoners were released on March 14, 1973, John McCain earned several awards, the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Silver and Bronze Stars. After his release, he rehabilitated from his injuries for nine months, but they still halted any more advancement in the military.
John McCain was first introduced to the political scene in 1976, when he was appointed as the Navy’s liaison to the US Senate. John met his first wife in 1965, her name was Carol Shepp. They divorced in 1980, and in 1981, McCain married Cindy Hensley, then he retired from the navy and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to work in his father’s beer-distribution business and to begin creating political contacts. In the year 1982, John McCain was elected to the House of Representatives, and he was reelected in 1984. He was elected to the US Senate in 1986, but in 1987, John McCain was suspected and investigated to find out if he was a member of the “Keating 5,” a group of senators who were accused of intervening with federal regulators on Charles H Keating’s request. McCain was cleared of all charges, and Charles Keating’s “Lincoln Savings and Loan Association” became one of the biggest failures in the loan and savings disasters of the 1980’s.
McCain weathered the scandal, and was reelected to the US Senate three times, and supported the increase of tobacco legislation and a reform of the campaign finance system. He published a book, Faiths of my Fathers, an account of his family’s military history and his experiences as a POW (Prisoner Of War). In 2000, John McCain was a serious contender with Bush for the Republican presidential nomination. It was close, but Bush won in the end. In August of 2000, he was diagnosed with skin cancer on his arms and face. He underwent surgery to remove them, and the cancer is completely gone now. In the year 2001, McCain’s joint effort with Democratic senator Russell D. Feingold, after six years, came to fruition. In 2003 the Supreme Court decided to uphold his proposed bill to restrict unlimited contributions to political parties.
McCain supported Bush throughout his reelection campaign, even though their opinions differ on several points. He also supported the “surge” of 20,000 soldiers to Iraq, which he says has improved security. After Bush’s second term, McCain could run for the presidency, and so he is running now.
Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska and self-confessed WalMart shopper, is running for vice president on the Republican ticket. She was born in Sandpoint, Idaho, on February 11, 1964. Her parents are named Charles and Sally. At the age of three months, her family moved to Alaska in the year 1964, and Sarah grew up in a town called Wasilla. Sarah Palin went to Wasilla High School and graduated in the year 1982, and then she attended the University of Idaho until 1987, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Communications-Journalism.
After College, Sarah married Todd Palin, a fisherman and four-time-winner of the Iron Dog, the world’s longest snowmobile race. Her five children are named Willow, Trig, Piper, Track, and Bristol. Trig, her youngest, has Down Syndrome. She is a lifelong NRA member and enjoys hunting and fishing. Sarah Palin is pro-life and the chair of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Corporation.
When she was elected the eleventh governor and first female governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin invested $5 billion into state savings, funding to overhaul the education system, and a senior benefits program. She has also helped finance a $40 billion oil pipeline to be built in Alaska, and one of her major goals is to open up oil drilling in several protected Alaskan areas.
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