Make-Believe Maverick

A closer look at the life and career of John McCain reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty
BY TIM DICKINSONPosted Oct 16, 2008 7:00 PM

At Fort McNair, an army base located along the Potomac River in the nation's capital, a chance reunion takes place one day between two former POWs. It's the spring of 1974, and Navy commander John Sidney McCain III has returned home from the experience in Hanoi that, according to legend, transformed him from a callow and reckless youth into a serious man of patriotism and purpose. Walking along the grounds at Fort McNair, McCain runs into John Dramesi, an Air Force lieutenant colonel who was also imprisoned and tortured in Vietnam.

McCain is studying at the National War College, a prestigious graduate program he had to pull strings with the Secretary of the Navy to get into. Dramesi is enrolled, on his own merit, at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in the building next door.

There's a distance between the two men that belies their shared experience in North Vietnam — call it an honor gap. Like many American POWs, McCain broke down under torture and offered a "confession" to his North Vietnamese captors. Dramesi, in contrast, attempted two daring escapes. For the second he was brutalized for a month with daily torture sessions that nearly killed him. His partner in the escape, Lt. Col. Ed Atterberry, didn't survive the mistreatment. But Dramesi never said a disloyal word, and for his heroism was awarded two Air Force Crosses, one of the service's highest distinctions. McCain would later hail him as "one of the toughest guys I've ever met."

On the grounds between the two brick colleges, the chitchat between the scion of four-star admirals and the son of a prizefighter turns to their academic travels; both colleges sponsor a trip abroad for young officers to network with military and political leaders in a distant corner of the globe.

"I'm going to the Middle East," Dramesi says. "Turkey, Kuwait, Lebanon, Iran."

"Why are you going to the Middle East?" McCain asks, dismissively.

"It's a place we're probably going to have some problems," Dramesi says.

"Why? Where are you going to, John?"

"Oh, I'm going to Rio."

"What the hell are you going to Rio for?"

McCain, a married father of three, shrugs.

"I got a better chance of getting laid."

Dramesi, who went on to serve as chief war planner for U.S. Air Forces in Europe and commander of a wing of the Strategic Air Command, was not surprised. "McCain says his life changed while he was in Vietnam, and he is now a different man," Dramesi says today. "But he's still the undisciplined, spoiled brat that he was when he went in."

(READ ALL)

John Cleese on Sarah Palin

Hillary Sent Me.

No on Prop. 8 PSAs spoof Mac vs. PC commercials

With new poll data showing that Proposition 8 (which would re-ban gay marriage in California) is suddenly gaining momentum, celebrities like Molly Ringwald and Margaret Cho have joined the fight for marriage equality by starring in PSAs that spoof the popular PCs vs. Mac commercials.

Watch all four very funny videos, and then send them to everyone you know in California — intelligent humor really is the best weapon!

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Lesbian video from AfterEllen.com

Clinton nixes idea of serving on Supreme Court

Posted: 02:11 PM ET

From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Clinton said she is happy being a senator from New York.

(CNN) — It’s a question that arose even before Hillary Clinton abandoned her presidential bidfour months ago: What's next for the junior senator from New York?

Definitely not a spot on the Supreme Court, and likely not a bid to be Senate Majority Leader or President of the United States, she told Fox News Tuesday.

Asked directly about rumors she may have her eye on the bench, Clinton said there was “zero” chance of that happening: "I have no interest in doing that," she said, laughing.

Speculation mounted it may be a possibility after Lawrence Tribe, a constitutional law expert at the Harvard Law School who is advising Obama's campaign, said last spring he thought Clinton may be a good fit for the high court.

"I certainly think that Senator Obama's inclination to look for people of broad experience, people whose deepest values and whose empathy with others makes them wise human beings as well as expert lawyers, would mean he wouldn't rule out people such as Senator Clinton just because they don't have judicial experience," he told the National Journal.

Others in the chattering class have said a run for Senate Majority Leader, replacing Sen. Harry Reid, is much more likely, given Clinton's success in the chamber and the respect she has forged there. Many also speculate Clinton still harbors presidential ambitions, and could run in four or eight years depending on if Barack Obama is elected.

Watch: Clinton back on the trail

But speaking to Fox Tuesday, Clinton said the chances she pursues either of those options are "probably zero."

"There's an old saying: Bloom where you're planted. And I've always loved that," she said. "I love being in the Senate. I ran for president because I thought we had to make drastic changes given what I viewed as the damage that the Bush administration had done here at home and abroad. Now I'm going to work very hard with President Obama to repair that damage."

Tina Fey On Sarah Palin: "If She Wins...I'm Leaving Earth"

Tina Fey told TVGuide she'll be "done" if John McCain and Sarah Palin win the election next month.

The "SNL" veteran who has come back to play the Republican Vice Presidential candidate (and whose own show, "30 Rock," is still nowhere to be seen), said, "We're gonna take it week by week. If she wins, I'm done. I can't do that for four years. And by 'I'm done,' I mean I'm leaving Earth."

Fey also said it's a busy but exciting time for "SNL."

"Election time is always good for [SNL] and this is a bonkers election," she said. "And that lady is a media star. She is a fascinating person, she's very likeable. She's fun to play, and the two bits with Amy [Poehler], that was super fun," Fey says.

For the full story, pick up the October 20th issue of TV Guide, plus the following week's issue (October 27th) featuring TV Guide's cover story on 30 Rock's Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin.

I love Donna Brazile. Listen to her talk about Obama and the back of the bus.

At this weekend's New Yorker Festival, Donna Brazile had some frank words on the "If I Were Running This Campaign" panel, with Donna Brazile, Alex Castellanos, Ed Rollins, Joe Trippi, and moderator Jeff Toobin. According to NYer fest blogger Justin Vogt, when Toobin asked Brazile for some closing thoughts she definitely had a few.

Rednecks for Obama

Betty White calls Sarah Palin a "Crazy Bitch" on Craig Ferguson

Hillary

In a passionate speech introducing Joe Biden at a campaign rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania this afternoon, Hillary Clinton gave a strong endorsement to Barack Obama by celebrating the end of the Bush administration, shouting:

"Make no mistake about it. We've done it before and we will do it again. America will once again rise rise from the ashes of the Bushes."

(WATCH VIDEO)