There was the CBC in its election coverage consistently referring to John McCain as a war hero. Peter Mansbridge, Alison Smith and Rex Murphy were particularly effusive in their praise of McCain. Let it be said that McCain’s concession speech was first rate, classy and conciliatory. Let it also be said that John McCain is no war hero.
John McCain was shot down on his 23rd bombing mission over Vietnam, a country which had never attacked the USA, he was part of an imperial invasion of a neutral country. civilian casualties range from 1-2 million. In 1995 the North Vietnamese estimated the number at 2 million.
McCain who referred to the Vietnamese in racist terms(”gooks”) in a 1973 article, landed in Truc Boc lake in Hanoi, was saved from drowning by a citizen.He claimed he was tortured but always has refused the release of his government debriefing.
A war hero? Hardly. Bombing innocent civilians in a foreign country which did not threaten you makes you complicit in war crimes. Only in a country where militarism runs rampant could such a character be deemed a war hero, virtually beyond criticism.
McCain has been dining out freely on this spurious claim for over 40 years.
Now it is “received wisdom” beyond dispute,
Is it any wonder why the media is losing respect?