McCain's patriotism gains points with conservatives

Conservative Christian groups have praised Senator John McCain's humbleness and patriotism after hearing his revealing acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last week during which he spoke up about his family's three generations of painful war experiences.

The former prisoner of war, who has been accused of being a war enthusiast, said that his grandfather, a navy admiral, had died the day after returning home from World War II.

When he was five-years-old, Japan had bombed Pearl Harbour after which his father, also a navy officer, was called into battle and McCain rarely saw him for four years.

In his case, McCain's plane was shot down during the Vietnam War and he was held a prisoner in Hanoi for six years where he faced torture and humiliation.

"I hate war," McCain stated in his speech as the Republican presidential nominee Thursday night. "It is terrible beyond imagination."

But perhaps more interesting than his family's well-known and impressive service to the country is the transformation McCain underwent during his years in prison.

The man vying to hold the highest US government position admitted that going into Vietnam he was arrogant, self-centred and thought he was "tougher than anyone".

"I liked to bend a few rules, and pick a few fights for the fun of it," McCain said. "But I did it for my own pleasure; my own pride. I didn't think there was a cause more important than me."

However, after enduring broken bones that were not set right, losing weight until he was only about a hundred pounds, and being unable to feed himself, he said he began to learn the "limits of my selfish independence".

Other American POWs comforted McCain when he was dejected and encouraged him to get back up to fight for the country.

"I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's," he said emotionally. "I loved it not just for the many comforts of life here. I loved it for its decency; for its faith in the wisdom, justice and goodness of its people.

"I loved it because it was not just a place, but an idea, a cause worth fighting for. I was never the same again. I wasn't my own man anymore," McCain said. "I was my country's."

Concerned Women for America, a conservative Christian public policy group, praised McCain for presenting himself authentically and sincerely through his "powerful personal narrative".

"He could showcase the driving force that propels him forward and tell America about the point when his life's 'calling' became 'Country First'," wrote Dr Janice Shaw Crouse, senior fellow at CWA's Beverly LaHaye Institute, in a column.

She also complimented McCain for acknowledging the Republican Party's past failures and laying out a plan to reverse national problems such as oil dependence, the high unemployment rate, and the education system.

Tom Minnery of Focus on the Family, who attended both conventions, also highlighted McCain's speech about his painful experiences with war during a FOTF broadcast on the convention.

"The man has a story," Minnery stated.

He also approved of McCain's position on education reform, where parents will be given more freedom to decide where their child is educated.

Furthermore, Minnery applauded the 2008 Republican platform. The platform "spares no item on the social conservative agenda that's important to us", he noted.

"John McCain has embraced everything that social conservatives could have wanted in the platform," Minnery said.

The Republican platform states that marriage is between one man and one woman, advocates for a human life amendment where abortion is banned, supports a prohibition on embryonic stem cell research, and allows religious symbols in public places.

Values voters are also pleased with McCain's vice presidential selection, Governor Sarah Palin, who is a social conservative and avid reformer.

McCain, in his concluding remarks, said, "I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need. My country saved me. My country saved me, and I cannot forget it. And I will fight for her for as long as I draw breath, so help me God."

The latest Gallup Poll political tracking finds that Democratic nominee Barack Obama has a four-percentage-point lead over Senator John McCain, 48 per cent to 44 per cent, in presidential preferences of registered voters. The margin of error is two percentage points.