Yah, that part of the story checks out.

Personally, I am inclined to be sceptical about the cross story.

McCain's cross story just seems too . . . your choice of words is very good here, I think . . . “convenient”. It sounds too good to be true, yet unverifiable.

I often defend McCain, but I wonder how many other folks of similar persuasion thought that story a little “off”.

I do think one has to be honest about such things.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008...

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/94652/did_mc...

edia/

Regarding honor among POW, McCain lost his many years ago when he worked to shut down all further investigation of remaining MIA/POW in order to open up trade with Vietnam. His father-in-law immediately opened up a beer industry there.

http://www.aiipowmia.com/testimony/

I embrace the Obama celebrity meme. Loved that ad. Just as my addled brain seems to have embraced the Democrat's McCain-crazy-old-man meme. Memes are my friends.

I look forward to Celeb Obama's guest appearance on the Simpsons this fall (maybe like the Clinton-Dole episode . . . or perhaps the Clinton-Carter-Bush Sr. “Three Stooges” episode nyuk-nyuk-nyuk).
But having McCain and Granpa Simpson in the same frame would be double vision.

Alas, JS, I fear the Left's meme has become a brain worm, for I can no longer look at McCain without thinking of Granpa Simpson shouting at clouds. (Damn that compelling TV show . . . here's an image that will overwrite YOUR mental image of McCain too I suspect:
http://images.google.ca/images?um=1&hl=en&q=gra...)

“Is loyalty among these folks truly so strong they are willing to throw aside common sense and honesty in order to maintain it?”

Well . . . yes! Hello? This is the GOP we are talking about.
However, they hardly have a monopoly on political zombism. Recall this classic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a6YdNmK77k

Thanks for the imagery, a little over the top, but entertaining. My greater concern is that the R's have already proven they are willing to get behind any candidate they nominate, regardless of how much mental drooling he might be susceptible to. Is loyalty among these folks truly so strong they are willing to throw aside common sense and honesty in order to maintain it? The GWB experience has given us the sad answer.

Doesn't that concern many of you McCain supporters and undecideds? If elected, what kind of leader will he be? The stench of the Bush (and Rove) style is clinging to McCain and likely to form his governing style.

Don't you just love it, when they eat their own????

In looking at coverage of this story, I am interested in the MSM links (Andrea Mitchell et al) going back to the Obama camp . . . together with the Obama camp protesting they are not pursuing this story.

The WaPo recently got burned by taking Obama camp op research on McCain and donations and spinning it into a front page story without checking . . . then issuing a wholesale correction.

The meme on this one seems to be that whenever the general consensus is Obama performed less well than an opponent . . . then the refs are crooked (primary debate with Geroge Step.), McCain had a half-hour advantage (here) . . . something other than Obama must be at fault.

Good MSM pushback from the Obama team, employing Mitchell et al to spread the word. (Mitchell in the early days after the whole Berlin hospital deal floated the Obama meme that there was a conspiracy by the McCain camp and the Pentagon to sabotage Obama's visit . . . something the Obama camp KNEW was false . . . but they wanted an early pushback out there).

StockboySF said: “Another story that McCain told which struck me as odd (and I didn't follow anyway) was how he was given the chance to leave his captivity early, but he decided to stay.”

That's a well-known element of McCain's POW narrative. Given McCain's father etc., the North Vietnamese offered to release him ahead of the other prisoners. This would have the propaganda value of showing the class-ridden, elitest Americans yada yada. It would also damage POW morale. McCain refused, and actually remained a POW far longer than he would have had to otherwise.

As for the cross story? McCain's reliance on Christian faith has been an element of his POW narrative since the beginning back in the 70s . . . so the emphasis on Christianity in his narrative isn't a recent introduction to please the Christian Right.

I tend to be sceptical, but will give it a pass as it seems no biggie. Certainly the Kossacks piling on ain't gonna hurt McCain with the Christian Right.

So the questions I had when I first heard McCain were: how many Christians were guards in North Vietnam? Did those guards wear sandals (I heard McCain say the guard used his sandal, I did not hear him say handle) to draw the cross. I thought that military people wore boots, though I can understand how sandals would be worn in that part of the world and at that time- though I don't really know.

Another story that McCain told which struck me as odd (and I didn't follow anyway) was how he was given the chance to leave his captivity early, but he decided to stay.

Unless some proof arises that McCain had access, however, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. He arrived half an hour late, and that seems insufficient time to prepare your answers, even if he did have access.

But the other contradiction makes no sense at all. Warren says he thought McCain was in the building, but then had to ask another question to Obama because McCain hadn't arrived yet? And then he says that he asked McCain straight up if he saw the questions in his motorcade. When? In the actual interview with McCain Warren makes it clear that he believed McCain to be in the secluded room. The first joke referenced that point and McCain went along with it. Did Warren learn that McCain was not, in fact, in the secluded room after the show….is that when he asked McCain if he cheated? It's possible, but it's a bit unclear at this point.

That a North Vietnamese guard was secretly Christian is unlikely but not impossible.

D. E.,
I never really believed the square box story. But the cone of silence BS has already been revealed by Warren himself.

Look at the bottom section, entitled “Campaign weekend.” The coin toss was done hours, and maybe even some time, before the event. Obama and McCain are busy guys, so I doubt they were hanging around Warren's church for the entire day.