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McCain, John

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"It would be a wonderful thing if we lived in a world where we don't have enemies. That's not the world we live in. And until Sen. Obama understands that reality, the American people have every reason to doubt whether he has strength, judgment and determination to keep us safe." - John McCain

John McCain

Birthday: August 29, 1936 (age 71)

Bio

John Sidney McCain III is the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona and a Republican candidate for president in 2008.

Both McCain's grandfather and father were Admirals in the U.S. Navy. McCain also attended the United States Naval Academy, where he graduated in 1958.

McCain then became a naval aviator flying attack aircraft. Participating in the Vietnam War, he narrowly escaped death during the 1967 Forrestal fire.

On a bombing mission over North Vietnam later in 1967, John was shot down and badly injured. McCain endured five and a half years as a prisoner of war, including periods of torture, before he was finally released following the Paris Peace Accords in 1973.

Retiring from the Navy in 1981 and moving to Arizona, John McCain entered the world of politics. In 1982 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 1st congressional district.

After serving two terms, he was elected to the U.S. Senate from Arizona in 1986. He was re-elected Senator in 1992, 1998, and 2004. While generally adhering to conservatism, McCain established a reputation as a political maverick for his willingness to defy Republican orthodoxy many times.

One example: making campaign finance reform a signature concern of his, leading to the passing of the McCain-Feingold Act in 2002.

John McCain was a candidate for the Republican nomination in 2000, but was defeated by George W. Bush after closely contested battles in several early primary states.

Seeking the White House again in 2008, McCain has emerged as the Republican front-runner at last. His candidacy was pronounced DOA by "experts" time and again, but it looks like Mac is back - and quite possibly here to stay.

John McCain and his wife, Cindy Hensley McCain, who he married in 1980, have three children: Meghan (born 1984), John Sidney IV ("Jack," born 1986), and James (born 1988). Cindy McCain has been a fixture on the campaign trail of late.

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