John Sidney McCain III was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death. He was the Republican nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 election, which he lost to Barack Obama.McCain graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1958 and followed his father and grandfather—both four-star admirals—into the U.S. Navy. He became a naval aviator and flew ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. During the Vietnam War, he was almost killed in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. While McCain was on a bombing mission during Operation Rolling Thunder over Hanoi in October 1967, he was shot down, seriously injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. He was a prisoner of war until 1973. McCain experienced episodes of torture and refused an out-of-sequence early repatriation offer. The wounds that he sustained during the war left him with lifelong physical disabilities. He retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981 and moved to Arizona, where he entered politics. In 1982, McCain was elected to the United States House of Representatives, where he served two terms. He entered the U.S. Senate in 1987 and easily won reelection five times, the last time in 2016.While generally adhering to conservative principles, McCain also had a media reputation as a "maverick" for his willingness to disagree with his party on certain issues. After being investigated and largely exonerated in a political influence scandal of the 1980s as a member of the Keating Five, he made campaign finance reform one of his signature concerns, which eventually resulted in passage of the McCain–Feingold Act in 2002. He was also known for his work in the 1990s to restore diplomatic relations with Vietnam, and for his belief that the Iraq War should have been fought to a successful conclusion. McCain chaired the Senate Commerce Committee and opposed pork barrel spending. He belonged to the bipartisan "Gang of 14" which played a key role in alleviating a crisis over judicial nominations.McCain entered the race for the Republican nomination for President in 2000, but he lost a heated primary season contest to Governor George W. Bush of Texas. He secured the nomination in 2008 after coming back from early reversals, but was defeated by Democratic nominee Barack Obama in the general election, losing by a 365–173 electoral college margin. He subsequently adopted more orthodox conservative stances and attitudes and largely opposed actions of the Obama administration, especially in regard to foreign policy matters. By 2013, however, he had become a key figure in the Senate for negotiating deals on certain issues in an otherwise partisan environment. In 2015, McCain became Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. In 2017, he reduced his role in the Senate after a diagnosis of brain cancer. He died at the age of 81 on August 25, 2018.
Has been Senior Senator from Arizona since 3 January 1987.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona from 1983 to 1987.
Was the first sitting senator to host "Saturday Night Live" .
The first time his appearance on "Saturday Night Live" aired, it was pre-empted in the Washington D.C./Baltimore metro area due to a sniper shooting.
Graduated, in 1958, fifth from the bottom of his class at the United States Naval Academy.
One of his favorite movies is Paths of Glory . His favorite movie, as stated in his memoir Worth the Fighting For, is Viva Zapata! (1952) . He also ranks Star Wars among his favorites.
As a U.S. Navy pilot, he was captured on 26 October 1967, after his plane was shot down while on a bombing run over Hanoi. He parachuted into a lake, breaking both arms and a leg. He was then imprisoned at the notorious North Vietnamese hell-hole, known as the Hanoi Hilton. He has described his five and a half year imprisonment as a nightmarish time, in which he was beaten and kept in solitary confinement. Twice he tried to hang himself, only to be cut down and assaulted by the guards.
At the time he was shot down, his father Admiral John S. McCain was Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet.
Good friends with Massachusetts senator John Kerry.
Longtime friend of Comedy Central show "The Daily Show" and of Jon Stewart.
His Senate seat was previously held by Barry Goldwater.
He is a second cousin seven times removed of President George Washington and a ninth cousin of Quincy Jones , both through the Washington line.
His candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2008 presidential election was endorsed by several celebrities, including former President George W. Bush , Henry Kissinger , Sylvester Stallone , and former California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
U.S. Senators William Cohen and Gary Hart were the best men at his second wedding.
Retired from the Navy as a Captain.
After adopting his first wife Carols children Doug and Andy, she gave birth to their daughter Sidney in September 1966.
Born to Admiral John S. "Jack" McCain Sr. (1911-1981) and his wife Roberta Wright (born in 1912), he grew up with his older sister Sandy and his younger brother Joe.
Was an excellent wrestler in high school.
Once joked about Chelsea Clinton at a Republican fundraiser, saying "Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno.", but later apologized.
He has English, as well as Scottish and Scots-Irish (Northern Irish), ancestry.
Quit his two pack a day cigarette habit in 1979.
Children with second wife, Cindy Hensley McCain , Meghan McCain (b. October 23, 1984), John Sidney IV ("Jack") (b. May 2, 1986), James Hensley ("Jimmy") (b. May 21, 1988) and Bridget Leela. (b. July 21, 1991).
He has been treated for cancer four times.
Made the surprise choice of the little-known Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, the first time a female candidate had been on the Republican ticket. The announcement fell on McCains 72nd birthday and Palins 20th wedding anniversary (August 29, 2008).
Has his look-alike puppet in the French show "Les guignols de linfo" .
Presidential campaign slogan: "Country first".
Favorite book is For Whom the Bell Tolls. The title of his second memoir, Worth the Fighting For, is a phrase lifted from the novel. He credits the book with influencing much of his philosophy and calls its protagonist Robert Jordan his lifelong ideal of a hero.
Friend of Warren Beatty despite their political differences.
Naval honors included Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Ranking member, U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.
Member, U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee.
Release of his book, "Character is Destiny: Inspiring Stories Every Young Person Should Know and Every Adult Should Remember" by John with Mark Salter.
Release of his book, "Faith of My Fathers" by John with Mark Salter.
Release of his book, "Hard Call: Great Decisions and the Extraordinary People Who Made Them" by John with Mark Salter.
Despite representing Arizona in the US Senate, he comes from a prominent military family based on the east coast of the United States. The USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) is jointly named after his father - who served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War - and his grandfather, who served in World War I and World War II.
Diagnosed with brain cancer.[July 2017].
Underwent surgery for a blood clot over the left eye.[July 2017].
Longtime close friend of Joe Biden.
We must win in Iraq. If we withdraw, there will be chaos. There will be,genocide; and they will follow us home.
War is wretched beyond description, and only a fool or a fraud could,sentimentalize its cruel reality.
The core political values of our free society are so deeply embedded in,our collective consciousness that only a few malcontents, lunatics,generally, ever dare to threaten them.
I believe in evolution. But I also believe, when I hike in the Grand,Canyon and see it at sunset, that the hand of God is there also.
[on Vladimir Putin] I looked in his eyes and saw three letters: a K, a G,and a B.
I will not take the low road to the highest office in this land. I want,the presidency in the best way, not the worst way.
Our armed forces will fight for peace in Iraq, a peace built on more,secure foundations that are found today in the Middle East. Even more,important, they will fight for two human conditions of even greater,value than peace: liberty and justice.
The use of torture compromises that which most distinguishes us from our,enemies, our belief that all people, even captured enemies, possess,basic human rights.
No one is above the law and the individuals entrusted with the privilege,of being sworn law officers should always seek to be beyond reproach in,their commitment to fairly enforcing the laws they swore to uphold. Mr.
Instead, the specter of September 30 budget reconciliation deadline has,hung over this entire process.
Ironically for someone who had so long asserted his own individuality as his first and best defense against insults of any kind, I discovered that faith in myself proved to be the least formidable strength I possessed when confronting alone organized inhumanity on a greater scale than I had conceived possible. Faith in myself was important, and remains important to my self esteem. But I discovered in prison that faith in myself alone, sep0arate from other, more important allegiances , was ultimately no match for the cruelty that human beings could devise when they were entirely unencumbered by respect for the God given dignity of man. This is the lesson I learned in prison. It is, perhaps, the most important lesson I have ever learned.
I know where a lot of them [the elite or elitists],Only the most deluded of us could doubt the necessity of this war.
War is wretched beyond description, and only a fool or a fraud could sentimentalize its cruel reality.
I believe in evolution. But I also believe, when I hike the Grand Canyon and see it at sunset, that the hand of God is there also.
We cannot forever hide the truth about ourselves, from ourselves.
Our armed forces will fight for peace in Iraq, a peace built on more secure foundations than are found today in the Middle East. Even more important, they will fight for two human conditions of even greater value than peace: liberty and justice.
The core political values of our free society are so deeply embedded in our collective consciousness that only a few malcontents, lunatics generally, ever dare to threaten them.
