A noun, a verb, and ‘prisoner of war’

The initial response from the McCain campaign on the senator’s confusion about how many homes he owns was pretty weak. Put it this way, it talked about arugula and Hawaii.

A couple of hours later, though, the McCain gang went with the one response that applies to every question.

The McCain campaign is road-testing a new argument in responding to Obama’s criticism of his number-of-houses gaffe, an approach the McCain camp has never tried before: The houses gaffe doesn’t matter because … he was a P.O.W.! “This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years — in prison,” spokesman Brian Rogers told the Washington Post.

I see. When the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, a close Bush ally, publicly questioned McCain’s marital infidelities, the McCain campaign responded by highlighting McCain’s background as a prisoner of war.

When Dems attacked McCain’s healthcare plan in May, McCain responded by noting his background as a prisoner of war.

Asked by a local reporter about the first thing that comes to his mind when he thinks of Pittsburgh, McCain responded by talking about his background as a prisoner of war.

Accused of possibly having heard the questions in advance of Rick Warren’s recent candidate forum, the McCain campaign responded by highlighting McCain’s background as a prisoner of war.

There seems to be a pattern here.



To be sure, McCain no doubt endured horrific conditions during the war, and it’s obvious that McCain’s detention as a young man in Vietnam helped shape his life. Given this, it’s not unreasonable that he’d want voters to know about his experience.

But that’s not a license to force the “P.O.W. card” into every unrelated question.

And all of this, of course, dovetails with the McCain campaign running multiple television ads talking about McCain’s background as a prisoner of war, literally including interrogation footage in the commercial.

This hard-sell wouldn’t be quite so odd if McCain didn’t go around saying that he’s reluctant to talk about his Vietnam experiences.