THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE

Before I start poking him with that pitchfork, I must salute him for serving in Viet Nam and not bugging out to Canada or England, like Slick Willie Clinton. He was shot down and captured, imprisoned and tortured by the Viet Cong. As a former POW, he deserves our respect and gratitude. Now, having said that, I can get to what I want to say. Having been shot down in 1973 and spending 5.5 years in captivity does not give anyone a free pass for the rest of their life, nor does it erase our collective memories of past behaviors.

Years ago, when I first became aware of John McCain, my first impression of him was to compare him to the character in the film Manchurian Candidate. The Manchurian Candidate was a novel written by Richard Condon. It was also made into a movie in 1962 and again in 2004. It is about the son of a political family in the US who has been brainwashed after being kidnapped and taken to Manchuria. John McCain's father and grandfather were both four star Navy Admirals and like the character in the story, John entered political life on his release from prison in North Viet Nam.

The self-proclaimed maverick politician, John McCain, has made a carrier of working both sides of the aisle and well as both sides of the issue du jure. He has repeatedly reversed his professed positions and compromised purported core principles. He has changed sides as the political conditions dictated. Some might suspect, all to stay in power and further a progressive agenda.

McCain, who has set the standard for flip-flops with no less than ten acrobatic flips in two weeks. Even John Kerry is envious of this record. McCain has retreated from, upended or just forgotten positions he once claimed as his own.

In recent days, in his fight to stay in office, McCain, once the champion of amnesty legislation and for a fast track path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, is now pushing for a crackdown on illegals. Our country is being flooded by illegal aliens from all parts of the globe as well as Latin America. Now that illegal immigration is a hot emotional issue for Arizonans, Flipper, is doing back flips in the hopes that the people of Arizona will be dazed by his gymnastics and forget all the waffles he has served up in his over two decades as senator.

When he lies, his jaw starts to swell.

During his failed bid for the White House in 2008, McCain made it clear that he had distanced himself from the conservative wing of his party. Now, he claims to be a "born-again" conservative, wanting to repeal Roe v. Wade, Don't ask - Don't tell, and calls for the restoration of State's Rights.

I don't have a vote in the upcoming Arizona election and don't know that much about his opponent, Mr. J. D. Hayworth, but I do believe almost anyone would be an improvement over McCain.

Unless we are suffering from a collective amnesia we can't ignore the established facts of McCain's carrier of playing to the leftist media and flipping whichever way the political wind blows. What we don't know about the "Real McCain" is what he genuinely stands for. And like the Manchurian Candidate, he seems to always have a hidden agenda.