John Sidney McCain III was born August 29th, 1936, in the Panama Canal Zone. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1958, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, and served in the Vietnam War. McCain has been a Republican U.S. Senator from Arizona since 1987, and ran for President in 2000, losing to George W. Bush in the primaries. While serving in Vietnam, his plane was shot down, and he was held as a POW in Hanoi for over five years. Before being honorably discharged from the Navy in 1981, McCain was awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit, a Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Purple Heart.

Senator McCain entered politics in 1982, when he ran for retiring Arizona congressman John Jacob Rhodes’ position and won. In 1986, McCain was elected Senator, his campaign partially financed by Charles Keating of the Keating Five congressional scandal. Because of this, McCain is a major supporter of campaign finance reform today, co-sponsoring the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act in 2002 along with Senator Russ Feingold. During the 2000 Presidential Election, he was able to win primary elections in six states, basing his campaign on honesty and image rather than partisan politics, but ultimately lost the Republican nomination to George W. Bush. The loss was attributed to Bush’s mobilization of the religious vote and Americans’ reluctance to elect a senator to an executive position.

Conservative on social issues but liberal on spending, some politicians consider McCain to be a Republican in Name Only. For example, he once opposed the construction of a new aircraft carrier, stating that the money should be used to feed the families of enlisted soldiers who were on food stamps, but he was also a supporter of the War in Iraq. McCain is also pro-life and anti-tobacco. He’s sometimes called a “maverick senator,” fighting against pork barrel spending and supporting legislative expansion of health care and education.

The senator is also critical of Bush administration, opposing tax cuts and demanding the resignation of defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld. However, he supports Bush’s foreign policy, including the War in Iraq and Saddam Hussein’s removal. Additionally, he was a part of the “Gang of 14” senators who in May 2005 agreed to allow Democrats to continue to filibuster and gave full Senate votes to three of Bush’s appellate court nominees. Also, the Republicans agreed to oppose the nuclear option if implemented.