These are a couple interesting articles about John and Cindy McCain that I hadn’t read. There is one thing about McCain that I do respect and that is his Patriotism and his service to this country.

John McCain’s remarks about the Pledge of Allegiance

In light of the recent appeals court ruling in California, with
respect to the Pledge of Allegiance, the following recollection from
Senator John McCain is very appropriate:

‘The Pledge of Allegiance’ - by Senator John McCain

‘As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war
during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the
NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In
1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large
rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room.

This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct
result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few
hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.

One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike
Christian. Mike came from a small town near Selma , Alabama. He
didn’t wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he
enlisted in the US Navy; he later earned a commission by going to
Officer Training School. Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and
was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep
appreciation of the opportunities this country and our military
provide for people who want to work and want to succeed.

As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some
prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages
were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing.

Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of
months, he created an American flag and sewed it on the inside of his
shirt.

Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike’s
shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance.

I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part
of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell it was
indeed the most important and meaningful event.

One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically,
and discovered Mike’s shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it.

That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the
benefit of all of us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple
of hours. Then, they opened the door of his cell and threw him in. We
cleaned him up as well as we could.

The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab; in the middle on which
we slept. Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room.

As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could. After the
excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room and sitting
there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth, another
shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was
sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had
received, making another American flag. He was not making the flag
because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag
because he knew how important it was to us to be able to pledge our
allegiance to our flag and country.

So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never
forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made
to build our nation and promote freedom around the world. You must
remember our duty, our honor, and our country.’

‘I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and
to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.’

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal on Cindy McCain, John’s wife.

All I ever saw was this attractive woman standing beside John. I was surprised how talented and involved with world problems she is. This is a summary of the article.
She graduated from Southern Cal and was a special-needs teacher.

After her Dad died she became involved with his beer distributing firm and is now the chairwoman. Sales have doubled since she has taken over from her father.
They have a marriage prenuptial agreement, her assets remain separate.

She is involved around the world clearing land mines - travels to these countries on a detonation team and service on their board.

They have a 19 year old serving in Iraq, another son in the Naval Academy, a daughter recently graduated from Columbia Univ., an adopted daughter in high school, and a son who is the finance guy at the beer firm.

Raised kids in Phoenix, Az rather than Washington DC.(better atmosphere) He commuted.
In 1991, Mrs. McCain came across a girl in an orphanage in Bangladesh. Mother Teresa implored Mrs. McCain to take the baby with severe cleft palate. She did so without first telling her husband. The couple adopted the girl who has had a dozen operations to repair her cleft palate and other medical problems.

They have a Family Foundation for children’s causes.
She’s active with ‘Halo Trust’ - to clear land mines, provide water and food in war ravaged and developing countries.

She will join an overseas mission of ‘Operation Smile’, a charity for corrective surgery on children’s faces.

She has had two back surgeries and became addicted to pain killers. She talks openly about it which she says is part of the recovery process.

I’m surprised the media is so quiet about her attributes. She sounds more capable than Hillary or Obama. We would really get two for the price of one. A person with business and international experience. John did work for the firm for awhile when he left the Navy. She, however, has the real business experience. Very interesting.