Senator John McCain told a moving story at the Saddleback Forum about a relatively compassionate Vietnamese guard approaching him and drawing a cross in the dirt in front of McCain as a way of signifying that he too was a Christian.
The presidential hopeful essentially repeated this story from his 1999 book Faith of our Fathers where he wrote:
“We both stood wordlessly looking at the cross until, after a minute or two, he rubbed it out and walked away. I saw my good Samaritan often after the Christmas when we venerated the cross together.”
Now Obama supporters, fresh on the heels of accusing McCain of cheating during the forum, are questioning the veracity of McCain’s ‘Cross in the dirt’ story. They’re saying he borrowed the story from the life of the recently deceased Alexander Solzhenitsyn whose story told by Chuck Colson goes like this:
Slowly he looked up and saw a skinny old prisoner squat down beside him. The man said nothing. Instead, he used a stick to trace in the dirt the sign of the Cross. The man then got back up and returned to his work.
As Solzhenitsyn stared at the Cross drawn in the dirt his entire perspective changed. He knew he was only one man against the all-powerful Soviet empire. Yet he knew there was something greater than the evil he saw in the prison camp, something greater than the Soviet Union. He knew that hope for all people was represented by that simple Cross. Through the power of the Cross, anything was possible.
To say McCain stole the story is, of course, ridiculous. The two stories have nothing whatsoever to do with each other other than drawing a cross in the dirt in a prison. Christians have been drawing crosses everywhere since the crucifixion.
And this story isn’t just the work of some individual left wing wacko. The uber popular Daily Kos is all over this story. Andrew Sullivan at the Atlantic is covering this intently. The Dallas News recounts the brouhaha, as well. The Political Insider as well runs with the story. And it’s gaining momentum. The UK Telegraph now has a story on it.
Now, Byron York of National Review actually did what other journalists see as unthinkable and actually called one of McCain’s fellow POW’s.
So I called Orson Swindle, a fellow POW who is campaigning for McCain, to ask him about it.
“I recall John telling that story when we first got together in 1971, when were talking about every conceivable thing that had ever happened to us when we were in prison” Swindle told me a few minutes ago. “Most of us had been kept apart or in small groups. Then, in 1970, they moved us into the big cell. And when we all got to see each other and talk to each other directly, instead of tapping through walls, we had 24 hours a day, seven days a week to talk to each other, and we shared stories. I vaguely recall that story being told, among other stories.”
“I remember it from prison,” Swindle continued. “There were several stories similar to that in which guards — a very few, I might add — showed compassion to the prisoners. It was rare, and I never met one, but some of the guys did.”
This is the kind of story that really saddens me. I’m no huge McCain fan. I’ve made that clear. But to question his honesty and integrity, especially about his time as a prisoner of war seems beyond the pale to me. But this is just an example of muddying the political waters. They’re simply throwing as many accusations as they can find and seeing what sticks. The Obama camp and their fellow travelers in the media are clearly worried after Saddleback. Obama accused the NRLC of “lying.” The campaign then accused McCain of listening to the questions beforehand. And now this. All of this makes me wonder if Saddleback may just have been Obama’s Waterloo.
August 19, 2008 at 3:59 am
You Republicans have lied and lied and lied about Democrats for years. This is just payback, son, just payback.
August 19, 2008 at 4:40 am
You abortion loving liberal Democrats are the ones that are going to see payback…. and it will burn.
August 19, 2008 at 4:41 am
So you don’t mind lying on principle? It’s just you want your side doing the lying?
August 19, 2008 at 4:43 am
It just seems like also a dumb political strategy for Obama’s camp to bring up McCain’s POW years, which are very moving and could swing voters towards McCain.
August 19, 2008 at 2:53 pm
If Rush is right, and he usually is, the Obama camp is seeing the handwriting on the wall, thus the dirty tactics of criticizing his POW days.Desperate measures for desperate campaigners.
Obama’s sputtering instead of answers when questioned “When does life begin?” and the truth about his votes against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act are proving fatal to his campaign.
August 19, 2008 at 3:13 pm
There definitely does seem to be some desperation in the Obama campaign. And we’re still over two months away from the election. Wonder how ugly it will get?
August 19, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Waterloo: I wish. Perhaps, it’s the end of the beginning, though, to borrow from Churchill. Let’s just keep fighting the good fight. Keep telling the truth and the truth will out. I just hope the voters care for the truth. And I’m sure this will get plenty ugly. Life and death struggles always do. Kit (with one T; lightyears away from Kitt)
August 19, 2008 at 5:52 pm
It’s because they’re worried. Don’t be surprised if the Dems choose Hillary. The magic is wearing off and even libs realize Obama is an empty suit who if he really was the Messiah should be trouncing McCain by at least 10 pts not giving up ground in the polls at this point.
August 19, 2008 at 6:06 pm
I can see a good old fashioned trouncing coming on for Mr. Obama regardless of what the talking heads claim. Yes, indeed.
August 19, 2008 at 6:10 pm
There are 24.5 million veterans in America today… 8.2 million of those are Vietnam veterans. Does Obama really want to start calling a P.O.W. a liar…? The word “audacity” really fits him well.
August 19, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Kit, I kinda knew that wasn’t you. Thought I did look at it twice.
August 19, 2008 at 8:16 pm
What I want to know is how a talking car was able to operate the combox.
August 19, 2008 at 9:19 pm
nightfly,
any reference to anything involving David Hasselhoff is punishable by crime on this blog. THIS IS A WARNING! Please refrain from any mention of the Hass. Thank you. This will be on your permanent record.
August 19, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Obama has proven he’s willing to fight dirty. Look to him bringing in McCain’s first wife and their divorce. Obama, himself, won’t say a word but his surrogates will seek to drag McCain through the mud.
August 20, 2008 at 2:25 am
He’s the pro-infanticide candidate. How can anyone vote for that? It’s beyond belief.
August 20, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Obama shares the Catholic view on saving the sea slug and preserving the wetlands, so it’s okay to vote for him.
Obviously some of you haven’t been listening to your bishops lately. Infantacide is equivalant to sea slugs, so just vote your “conscience.”
/sarc off
In all seriousness, why can’t we get the Bishops to simply say, “A Catholic can not support a pro-infantacide candidate under any conditions.”
August 25, 2008 at 4:09 am
Trust me, Obama will stop at nothing. He’s not the new kind of politician he claims to be. Two of his opponents in the 2004 senate race, Blair Hull and Jack Ryan, had their campaigns derailed after their divorce records were released to the public. Ryan tried hard to stop it because of the harm it would do to his kids. If there’s anything on McCain, Obama’s going to dig it up, while the press ignores everything about Ayers, Rev. Wright, and BAIPA.