Maverick. War hero. Comeback kid. Tag lines for candidates often seem superfluous, but in the case of Sen. John McCain, these qualities have separated him from other presidential nominees and account for much of his current platform.
The Republican senator from Arizona and presumed GOP presidential nominee has had a distinguished military career and a scandal early in his political career.
Both of these have had a significant impact on the politician he is today, said Mark Peterson, professor of public policy and political science.
Popular among moderate and independent voters, McCain has served in the Senate since 1987 and was re-elected in 2004 with almost 77 percent of the vote.
McCain, born on Coco Solo Naval Air Base in Panama as the son of a four-star naval admiral, comes from a family known for a history of military service, Peterson said.
John McCain Jr., Sen. McCain’s father, fought in both World War II and the Vietnam War. Sen. McCain’s grandfather, John McCain Sr. was similarly a four-star naval admiral.
Before establishing his career as a senator, McCain himself fought in the Vietnam War, and has been distinguished by his experience as a prisoner of war. He was detained and tortured at an infamous prison known as the Hanoi Hilton.
McCain’s experiences as a prisoner of war have made him appear more credible on the issue of torture as it pertains to political discussions about the Iraq War, Peterson said.
Indeed, McCain’s consistent record of opposing torture has distinguished him from other members of the Republican Party, said Matthew Baum, associate professor of political science.
“Over issues like waterboarding, and, more generally, torture, he’s been willing to buck the party fairly regularly,” Baum said.
The senator’s apparent platform as the pro-war candidate may also be a reflection of his experience as a soldier and his military family history, Peterson said.
“He is projecting himself as the person most ready to be commander-in-chief. He took on Donald Rumsfeld. He played a big role in shaping current Iraq policy and the surge,” Peterson said.
While McCain maintains a strong stance on many foreign-policy issues, his most noteworthy domestic issue has been campaign finance and ethics reform, in which his stance of being against interest groups is starkly in contrast to that of other Republicans, Baum said.
McCain has pledged to have a publicly funded campaign for November and is opposed to taking money from interest groups, Peterson said.
David Karol, assistant professor of political science at UC Berkeley, said this policy stance can be attributed to McCain’s involvement in the Keating Five savings and loans scandal of the late 1980s, during which he was one of five senators accused of intervening on the behalf of wealthy banker Charles Keating, Karol said.
Billions of federal dollars were spent on collapsed loan agencies, which is why the scandal was particularly important to taxpayers, Karol said.
In an effort to prevent his company ““ the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association ““ from being seized by the government, Keating requested the aid of the five senators, to whom he had given large sums of money, according to an article in the Feb. 22 edition of the Arizona Republic.
Keating, in addition to financially aiding McCain, had long been friends with the senator, Karol said.
McCain’s current position on campaign reform has, therefore, in many ways been a reinvention of his political philosophy, Karol said.
“There are a couple of ways to interpret what he did,” Karol said. “One way is that it is a sincere reaction and that he felt guilty about how he had behaved.
“And the other interpretation is that politically he had a problem; if he wanted to rise higher, he had to do something, so he became … a leading voice on these campaign finance reform issues.”
While McCain’s status as a maverick who has stood out from other conservatives may have helped him in the primaries, it may also pose as a challenge in the general election, political scientists said.
Baum said despite having attracted the attention of some independent voters and moderate conservatives, McCain still needs to secure support from many hard-line Republicans.
Going forward, McCain will also face the challenge of being the Republican nominee in a presidential race in which much of the enthusiasm has surrounded the Democrats, said Robb Willer, assistant professor of sociology at UC Berkeley.
McCain’s age is also a disadvantage, Peterson said.
“He is, frankly, 71 years old. He’s doing quite well, but he’d be the oldest president elected to office.
“If he’s standing next to Obama in a debate, the difference between youth and age are going to be stark,” Peterson said.
But Peterson said McCain does have the advantages of a military background, foreign-policy experience, and a reputation of political integrity since the Keating Five scandal.
With a compelling personal history and the courage to defy party leaders, it remains to be seen whether the senator from Arizona has the capacity to win over voters in the November election who are disenchanted with the Republican Party.