John McCain - It's a Sad Day

This is a letter submitted to John McCain on 9 July. I knew John McCain slightly - he was a flight instructor in Beeville, Texas in 1967 when I was in advanced jet training in the Marine Corps. I have followed his career and admired him as a principled man, tempered by his horrific experiences in Vietnam.

Submitted through John McCain's Senate web site. 9 July, 2004

John, I have written you in the past, inspired by your willingness to buck the trend of the Republicans and the administration in their sellout of the American people in favor of Corporate influence and their wrong-headed march into a militaristic, imperial foreign policy.

I even urged you to consider joining John Kerry to overthrow this administration in November. Your decision not only to condone, but to support actively this corrupt administration means to me that you place politics above principle. By praising George W. Bush's "moral clarity", you have tainted your own. How you could praise the moral clarity of a cabal that attempted to destroy your reputation by excrable campaign tactics in South Carolina is beyond my ken. I have always described you as someone whose integrity was beyond reproach. You are the only one who could have destroyed that view, and you have done it, sacrificing principle for your party. This country needs your leadership and you have abdicated.

It is a sad day.

(SFL)
LtCol. USMC (Ret.)
Flight Student, Beeville TX, 1967