He was tortured for your sins.

"Hey, quit making fun of John McCain. He was tortured in Vit Nam!"

So said an unruly heckler.

Really? I nominate Jose Padilla for President. Oh, right. He was tortured BY this country, not for it. McCain was not less tortured in 2000 when you rednecks believed Karl Rove's whisper-campaign that he had fathered a bi-racial child. It didn't give him a free pass then.

Also, while we're at it, why would it really matter if he'd fathered a bi-racial child? Is it that he must have supposedly had sex out of wedlock or that he dirtied himself with one of the mud people that bothers you more, you (imaginary) jackanape (in my head)?

Vice-Admiral James Stockdale was tortured in Viet Nam, too. His wife started the organization that led to that black flag, the one that says POW/MIA, that you tie to the back of your shiny new Harley. In fighting for her husband, she dealt a bigger blow to the North Vietnamese than Air America (yes. wild speculation. I'm not a lawyer, just a jawjacker).

McCain's wife Carol (oh, wait, he divorced her to marry a rich woman who could fund his political career)....McCain's wife Cindy owns one of the largest Anheiser-Busch distributors in the country. She's part of the reason you can dull the pain of your sad life with a six pack while you watch your little cars go around in a circle on the toob on Sundays.

I wanted McCain to win the nomination in 2000. I wanted him to be worthy of the mantle that Stockdale had to lay down. He wasn't then. He isn't now. The fact that he's a better man than I am and has withstood more than I ever could doesn't change that. I'm not running for President.