Foreign journalists come to the POW camp and want to interview him. He gets propped-up in a room with tea and cookies and he actually eats them. Horrors!
Some sick jerk could suggest that he "should have been more (fill in the blank___"defiant", "heroic", "martyr" blah, blah).
This isn't going to stick.
I agree, but I think McCain's people would be wise to not over play the "hero" thing.