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Line 5: − ==Political record==+ − #Patriotism: as a [[POW]] for five-and-a-half years during the [[Vietnam War]] (see below), McCain is a living symbol of the honor and sacrifice of [[America]]'s armed forces, and has the greatest claim of any of the candidates to be Commander-in-Chief.<ref>Obama and Clinton have both gone on public record as stating that the other did not "meet the experience threshold" for the role of CinC, while Clinton has asserted that McCain does, and Obama has remained silent on the subject of McCain's "experience threshold".</ref> − #National defense: McCain, a veteran, has been strong on national defense and a consistent supporter of the [[Iraq War]]. − #World affairs: McCain claims little patience for foreign opinion. In 2006, he said, "You can't expect the French to lead. You can't expect the Germans to lead. You can't even expect the British, our friends, to lead. The United States has to lead."<ref>http://www.azstarnet.com/news/138072</ref> − #[[Israel]]: McCain has a 25-year pro-[[Israel]] voting record, going even further than President [[George W. Bush]] in defending [[Israel]]'s most intense offensive against [[Lebanon]] in 24 years in response to Hezbollah's attacks on Israel.<ref>http://www.azstarnet.com/news/138072</ref> The [[Jerusalem]] Post observed that McCain has "the best chance of returning his party to the [[Reagan]]-era level of at least 30 percent of [[Jewish]] voters pulling the [[GOP]] lever. In the last five presidential elections it has ranged from 9 to 24 percent."<ref>http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1202211060463</ref> McCain received an extraordinary endorsement for President by the prominent former [[Democrat]] [[Joe Lieberman]], a leading spokesman for [[American]]-[[Israeli]] relations. − #[[Abortion]]: On Senate votes directly concerning abortion, McCain has voted on the pro-life side. − #[[Government]] Spending. McCain has vigorously advocated for the elimination of so-called "[[pork-barrel]]" spending. He voted against President Bush's Medicare Prescription Drug Act on the grounds that it was too costly. − #[[Evolution]]: McCain's position is that [[intelligent design]] should be taught along with the [[theory of evolution]]. − #[[Campaign finance]]: In 2002, McCain joined with liberal Democrat Russell Feingold to prohibit independent groups from advertising about a candidate within many weeks of an election. This law prohibits ads that do not even recommend for whom to vote, but merely urge people to contact their representatives concerning a vote that the representatives will make in Congress. A court recently declared this unconstitutional. − #[[Same-sex marriage]]: In 2006, McCain joined Democrats and liberal Republicans in voting against the Federal Marriage Amendment to protect traditional marriage. Later, on ''Hardball'', McCain declared, "On the issue of the gay marriage, I believe that people want to have private ceremonies, that's fine."<br />Also, McCain's home state of Arizona was the only state to defeat a marriage referendum (in 2006), as McCain did nothing to support it. − #[[Gambling]]: The McCain-Feingold campaign finance law allows Indian nations (which get nearly all their money from unregulated casinos) to make unlimited political donations, even though political donations by American citizens are strictly limited and political spending by corporations is prohibited. − #Tax cuts: McCain opposed President George W. Bush's tax cuts, on the argument that cutting taxes without also cutting spending was not actually a tax cut, but was a tax on future generations. He now supports keeping the Bush tax cuts in place. − #Criticism of the religious right: In his unsuccessful campaign in 2000, McCain criticized elements of the religious right because they were backing [[George W. Bush]]. − #[[Gun control]]: In 2004, McCain held a "C" rating by the [[NRA]] on a scale from "A" to "F".<ref>[http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel200411021307.asp]</ref> In 2000 he campaigned as an advocate of the [[Second Amendment]], but in 2002 McCain supported [[gun control]] by joining with [[Democrat]] [[Joseph Lieberman]] to push legislation that would shut down gun shows.<ref>[http://www.haciendapub.com/gunpage10.html "Gun Shows and Gun Control: McCain Is at It Again!"]</ref> − #Immigration: In 2005-2006, McCain joined with liberal Senator [[Ted Kennedy]] to support a sweeping bill that was favorable to illegal aliens. It has not passed. − #"Gang of 14": On May 23, 2005, McCain was part of a group of 14 Senators who blocked the planned "nuclear option" for confirming blocked Republican nominees for the bench. Under this compromise a few judicial nominees were allowed to be confirmed (Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen and William Pryor), but others (e.g., Henry Saad) remained blocked and had to withdraw. − #Senate Attendance Record. McCain has missed 33% of the Senate votes in early 2007, far more than the leading Democratic contenders.<ref>http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0331missedvotes0331.html</ref>
→Political record
McCain was elected to the [[House of Representatives]] from Arizona's 1st district in 1982 and served two terms before being elected to the [[Senate]] in 1986. In 2000, he pursued the presidency but lost his bid for the Republican nomination to [[George W. Bush]], the first time he had lost an election.<ref>[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/john_mccain/index.html John McCain] at the New York Times</ref> John McCain is currently running for presidency of the United States as a Republican.
McCain was elected to the [[House of Representatives]] from Arizona's 1st district in 1982 and served two terms before being elected to the [[Senate]] in 1986. In 2000, he pursued the presidency but lost his bid for the Republican nomination to [[George W. Bush]], the first time he had lost an election.<ref>[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/john_mccain/index.html John McCain] at the New York Times</ref> John McCain is currently running for presidency of the United States as a Republican.
== Electability ==
== Electability ==