McCain is no longer the hero he once was

Ray Harbert, Las Vegas

Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

I, like most veterans, have held John McCain in high esteem. His service during the Vietnam War and his perseverance while he was a prisoner of war have drawn admiration and respect. However, that iconic image has been shattered for many of us based on his conduct of his campaign for the presidency.

He now comes through as a “political hack” who will do anything or say anything to satisfy his uncompromising goal to become president of the United States. He has sacrificed his personal integrity — his image as an American first and a politician last — in the wake of lies, poor judgment and untethered ambition.

When John McCain became the presumptive Republican nominee for president, he vowed he would run a different type of campaign. No more smears, just his view of the issues and what he thought was best for his nation. Wrong. He picked up where Karl Rove left off, with unbridled and fabricated attacks on his opponents.

Each of these attacks was followed by a cat-who-swallowed-the-canary grin. Although he accuses his opponent of flip-flopping, he has taken that trait to a new level. I know of very few issues on which he has stayed the course.

He has flip-flopped as the winds shifted. This is not the war hero who we all admired. He has become a typical opportunistic politician. I will still admire his service in Vietnam, but I no longer respect him as a politician. Where did our hero go?