McCain, John Sidney, 3d,
1936–2018, U.S. politician, b. Panama Canal Zone. A much decorated
navy veteran, he was born into a career naval family and attended the U.S.
Naval Academy, graduating in 1958. He became a pilot and during the
Vietnam War was
shot down over Hanoi (1967), captured, and tortured; he was released in
1973. Retiring as a highly decorated captain in 1981, he was elected (1982)
as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona and served
two terms. In 1986 he first won election to the U.S. Senate, where he served
until his death. A personally appealing leader with generally conservative
views, he was noted for his bluff honesty, quick wit, and outspoken manner.
McCain was particularly active in attempting to forge a bipartisan coalition
for campaign-finance reform and, in 2005, for banning cruel and inhuman
treatment of any prisoner in U.S. custody. He chaired the Senate committee
on Indian affairs (1995–97, 2005–7), on commerce, science, and
transportation (1995–2001, 2003–5), and on armed services
(2015–18). McCain was an unsuccessful candidate for the 2000
Republican presidential nomination, losing in the primaries to George W.
Bush. In
2007–8, however, he mounted a successful campaign for the 2008
Republican presidential nomination. He chose the conservative Alaskan Gov.
Sarah Palin as his
running mate, but they lost to Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden. He later was a frank and
pointed critic of President Donald Trump, who made McCain an object of his
ire and disdain.
See his memoirs, Faith of My Fathers (2000) and Worth the Fighting For (2002); E. Drew, Citizen McCain (2002); P. Alexander, Man of the People (2002).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies
