>>Does anyone dispute those facts or that it is heroic?
The problem is that the word “hero” has been stretched way out of proportion since 9/11. Audie Murphy was a hero. Howard Gilmore was a hero. Alvin York was a hero. They did things that were way beyond the call of duty.
Today, we call police dogs heroes. Every person in a uniform is a hero. People who just do their job (as long as it is the right kind of job) are automatically heroes. Going on a dangerous mission and continuing the mission when it gets hairy is just doing the job, but with the right PR campaign, you can become a hero. See John F Kennedy and the Hollywood PT109 story for details.
McCain did his job. He continued the mission. He got shot down and performed heroically as a POW. But so did Admiral James Stockdale (who received the MOH for his heroism), and the leftist media had no problem with ripping his war record to shreds. But since McCain is their pet Republican, his record cannot be questioned. We must all accept the press release version as put out by the McCain spokesman.
Please see post 11.
And I think they should be criticized for that. And McCain should be criticized for almost everything he does. But by pulling this, it's only giving the media carte blanche tot attack people like Admiral Stockdale.