Changes

}}

}}

}}

}}

'''John Sidney McCain III''', born in the U.S. [[Panama Canal]] Zone, August 29, 1936 (age {{age|1936|8|29}})<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=m0003http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/13/Button_enter.png Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]</ref>, was the Republican candidate for President in 2008, is a prominent maverick politician and [[Vietnam War]] hero, and he is the senior [[United States Senate|Senator]] of [[Arizona]]. He has been an influential leader in American politics since 1986, when he ran for office attacking corruption, attacking [[pork barrel]] spending and working for [[campaign finance reform]].  He was defeated by [[George W. Bush]] for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, and lost to [[Barack Obama]] in the 2008 Presidential Election.

'''John Sidney McCain III''', born 29 August 1936 in the U.S. [[Panama Canal]] Zone, is a United States Senator from Arizona and a strong voice within the Republican Party.<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=m0003http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/13/Button_enter.png Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]</ref> McCain was the Republican nominee for President in 2008, campaigning on bipartisanship and national security. He has been an influential figure since 1986 when he ran for office attacking corruption and pork barrel spending, making significant changes in campaign finance reform during his career.

As a pilot for the [[United States Navy]] and former Prisoner-of-War ([[POW]]), he served in the military for 22 years.<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=m000303 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]</ref> McCain, a [[Baptist]],<ref> http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296973,00.html</ref> has impressive credentials on issues of foreign policy and national security, which have propelled him in the forefront of national politics as both an outspoken voice for the United States military and as a Presidential contender for the Republican Party since 1993.<ref>Alexander, Paul. John McCain: Man of the People. Published 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-47545-9</ref><ref>[http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080305/NATIONWORLD/803050441/0/LOCAL1901 ''McCain clinches GOP nomination; Huckabee bows out''] 5 March 2008 IndyStar.com</ref><ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,255535,00.html John McCain Announces Plans for '08 Presidential Candidacy on 'Late Night With David Letterman'], Associated Press, 1 March 2007</ref> If McCain had been elected President, he would have been the first President who was ever a POW of a foreign conflict.

McCain served in the military for 22 years as a pilot for the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=m000303 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]</ref> He was imprisoned and tortured as a Prisoner-Of-War (POW) in North Vietnam, an experience which tested his courage and profoundly shaped his life. When returning to the United States, he entered politics as a Republican Senator who rabidly fought on many important issues.

 

Impressive credentials on national security and foreign policy propelled McCain into the forefront of national politics as a Presidential contender for the the Republican Party since 1993.<ref>Alexander, Paul. John McCain: Man of the People. Published 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-47545-9</ref><ref>[http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080305/NATIONWORLD/803050441/0/LOCAL1901 ''McCain clinches GOP nomination; Huckabee bows out''] 5 March 2008 IndyStar.com</ref><ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,255535,00.html John McCain Announces Plans for '08 Presidential Candidacy on 'Late Night With David Letterman'], Associated Press, 1 March 2007</ref> If elected President, he would have been the first to serve as a POW of a foreign conflict.

==Early Life==

==Early Life==