His message could hurt his presidential campaign, since polls indicate two-thirds of Americans disagree with him. But John McCain insists he doesn't care about the political consequences. He says the only way to fix the mess in Iraq is a huge infusion of U.S. muscle.
For all the talk, there is one thing the Arizona senator doesn't discuss. His 18-year-old son Jimmy just became a Marine and is poised to go to Iraq. In effect, McCain is saying what few politicians are willing to say: Send my son, too.
For two centuries, the men of my family were raised to go to war as officers in America's armed services. It is a family history that, as a boy, often intimidated me, and, for a time, I struggled halfheartedly against its expectations. But when my own time at war arrived, I realized how fortunate I was to have been raised in such a family.
- McCain, in his 1999 memoir Faith of My Fathers
Jimmy McCain graduated from Marine boot camp in December. He could have opted for a safer job, but chose the infantry.
In that role, Pvt. McCain will be a rifleman on the front lines and will have a simple mission: to hunt and kill the enemy.
Jimmy is likely to be sent to Iraq this summer, probably to the Anbar province, considered one of the most dangerous regions of the country.
Publicly, McCain has said little about his son. He told Time magazine last summer that Jimmy was inspired to sign up because he had friends in the Marine Corps. The senator - the senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee - said he was no different than any other military dad. "Like every parent who has a son or daughter serving that way, you will have great concern, but you'll also have great pride."
After talking with Time, McCain decided he did not want publicity about his son and tried unsuccessfully to get the magazine to kill the story. Since then, neither McCain nor his wife, Cindy, have commented on their son.
Three tours of duty in hazardous fire areas and NO mention of Duncan Hunter. Interesting.