SAN DIEGO – Current events being what they are, the death of John McCain is especially poignant for those of us in this coastal city.
That’s because, just days before the 81-year-old went to his rest, San Diegans witnessed a spectacle that was the antithesis of everything McCain stood for. And it drives home what Americans have lost.
The Arizona senator was defined by courage and character. The former POW showed both when he told his North Vietnamese captors to shove it rather than accept early release so the son of a four-star admiral could be turned into a propaganda tool. As a result, his stay at the Hanoi Hilton was extended.
Meanwhile, Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-California, appears to have never made the acquaintance of either courage or character. It’s a deficit for which the 41-year-old has long been given a free pass because he’s a former Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It is assumed that when you volunteer to serve your country in uniform and go into battle on its behalf that you must automatically have courage and character.