The Myth of the Maverick: John McCain

Many people think John McCain is a straight talking Maverick who speaks his mind, has principles, is Independent-minded, and isn't your average Republican. But honestly, when you look at his record, most of the assumptions people have about McCain just aren't true.

Here's a list of the differences between public and media image and McCain's actual record.


MYTH: John McCain disagrees with George Bush on important issues.

FACT: McCain once opposed Bush on tax cuts for the wealthy, now he supports them. McCain voted with George Bush to uphold torture. Like Bush, he favors privatizing social security. He once opposed warrantless wiretapping, then he voted in favor of them with Bush. He once opposed offshore drilling, now, like Bush, he supports it. He has echoed Bush's belief that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. He supported the Iraq war and thought it would be easy. It's really actually true that he voted with George Bush 95% of the time. They even celebrated McCain's 69th Birthday together as Katrina was hitting New Orleans.

Just listen to the man himself:




MYTH: John McCain is against torture.

FACT: Despite once being tortured, John McCain voted to uphold the CIA's use of torture by voting against a bill that would have banned CIA waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods earlier this year. When the bill passed despite McCain's vote, he urged Bush to veto the bill, which he did, enshrining the CIA's right to torture. McCain has since said he believes waterboarding is torture.


MYTH: McCain believes in women's issues.

FACT: McCain is not only opposed to abortion, he is also opposed to requiring health care providers to cover contraception. McCain has also long opposed equal pay for women.


MYTH: John McCain is a straight-shooter.

FACT: McCain has repeatedly waffled on many issues over the years and has flip-flopped on many important issues. He even sacrificed principle for expediencey on issues in his 2000 primary campaign, most notably when he embraced South Carolina's use of the Confederate flag during the campaign, and then made the rounds to reporters to apologize for it afterwards.


MYTH: McCain is running an honorable campaign.

FACT: During the 2000 campaign, there was a push-poll in South Carolina that suggested that McCain's adopted Bangladeshi daughter was an illegitimate black daughter. The "mastermind" behind that smear was Tucker Eskew, and McCain recently hired him for this election. He has also engaged Karl Rove as a mid-level adviser, and his director of communications, Steve Schmidt, is a Rove protege. These operatives and others have crafted McCain-approved smear ads, including one that Joe Klein called the sleaziest he has ever seen in presidential politics. Even the Associated Press has called out the McCain campaign for engaging in lies and doublespeak.

You be the judge:




MYTH: McCain will lower your taxes.

FACT: McCain wants to lower income taxes, especially if you're rich. However, a little-reported aspect of McCain's health care proposal is that he wants to do away with employer-based tax deduction for health insurance -- basically, when your employer gives you health care, the amount they spend on you (about $12,000 for the average family) isn't considered taxable income. McCain wants to eliminate that credit, and plans to replace that $12,000 with a $2,500 tax credit for individuals and $5,000 for families. It doesn't add up, and anyone who has good health insurance, especially those with pre-existing conditions, would pay far more for their health care, easily negating the tax break.


MYTH: McCain is secretly pro-choice.

FACT: McCain is not, and never has been, pro-choice, even though Cindy McCain feigned confusion about his stance. Once, in 1999, in one of his many flip-flops, he suggested that he wouldn't appeal Roe vs. Wade, but he has repeatedly expressed his opinion that it should be overturned.


MYTH: John and Cindy McCain have a great love story.

FACT: When John McCain was in Vietnam, his first wife was in a car accident and badly handicapped. McCain engaged in a series of affairs, including one with Cindy McCain, who he met in Hawaii while he was still married. She is 19 years younger than him. Cindy McCain is an heiress whose net worth is over $100 million, allowing McCain to fly around on a jet.


MYTH: McCain is moderate on immigration.

FACT: Many people think he is moderate on immigration and favors amnesty to workers who are already here. It's true that he co-sponsored a bill that would do just that. Now he says he would have voted against his own bill and that he favors an enforcement policy.


MYTH: McCain fights lobbyists.

FACT: A huge portion of McCain's campaign is made up of lobbyists, including his campaign manager Rick Davis. These are not recent ties, and have been ongoing for years. Here's a chart of McCain's lobbyist ties.


MYTH: McCain isn't THAT old.

FACT: McCain would be the oldest person to be inaugurated president. According to actuarial tables, he has about a 15% chance of dying in his first term. Also his hair went gray in 1954 and he remembers the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.


MYTH: McCain is funny.

FACT: