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Against all odds, McCain fights for GOP nod
Tom Brokaw, NBC News: There's an attack underway on Iraq, on the city of Baghdad...
It’s 1991 and America is at war with Iraq.
Suddenly, the press can't get enough of John McCain.
Bob Timberg: McCain, because of his own experiences as a Navy pilot, was called on by many television stations to comment on what was happening.
This would prove especially true when Iraq captures American servicemen.
POW on camera: I would to tell my wife and family that I am alive.
(Bryant Gumbel interviews Sen. McCain)
Gumbel: To what extent can any American pilot be trained for the trauma of enemy captivity?
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.): They are taught name, rank, Social Security number, date of birth and then resist to the best of their ability and we acknowledge they are resisting to the best of their ability.
As the war rages, the "Keating Five" investigation quietly winds down. In February, the ethics committee releases its report. While some senators are heavily criticized, McCain receives a mild rebuke for "poor judgment" for attending meetings with banking regulators.
Sen. McCain: I believe the people of Arizona will accept this verdict and I will maintain their full trust and confidence.
Less than a year later, McCain is re-elected to the senate.
But as McCain basks in triumph, his wife Cindy is losing a secret battle of her own.
After two back surgeries, Cindy McCain becomes addicted to painkillers. She steals supplies from a medical charity, which she founded.
Cindy McCain: When you're dependant on something, you don't think rationally, or think the way you should. And obviously that's what I did. I never compromised a mission or anything like that. I compromised myself a great deal.
She avoids prosecution by seeking counseling. Although she's drug-free, she continues to struggle.
Cindy McCain: I will always be in recovery. This is not something just because I quit and it's over with I can walk away from.
Meantime, John McCain is creating a new stir around an old, familiar topic: Vietnam.
Sen. McCain: It's probably time for us to consider moving forward with our relations with the Vietnamese and fully heal the wounds of that unhappy chapter in America's history.
Former President Bill Clinton: Today I am announcing the normalization of diplomatic relationships with Vietnam.
The agreement is signed in 1995. But McCain pays a political price.
Mitchell: He reached out to the President and offered to give him political cover. It was not popular with many of the more conservative people in his own party.
Indeed, McCain seems to thrive on political risk.
He is re-elected in 1998, and that same year establishes a presidential exploratory committee, formally announcing his candidacy in 1999.
In the 2000 presidential race, McCain takes on the republican establishment with campaign finance reform on his agenda.
McCain beats frontrunner George W. Bush in the New Hampshire primary, but he's outspent by the Bush machine.
McCain’s Straight Talk Express runs out of gas and the Texas governor takes both the nomination and the general election.
By the spring of 2001, his tireless efforts to reform campaign finance laws are starting to pay off.
His bipartisan bill banning fat cat contributions passes the senate easily but gets stalled in the house, where it faces strong opposition.
But soon partisanship will be set aside.
On Sept. 11, 2001, America is under attack.
John McCain watches the tragic events unfold on television from his office on Capitol Hill.
If it hadn’t been for those brave Americans on the flight over Pennsylvania, that plane was headed for the capitol or the White House, not only were they heroes for America, but they might have saved my life as well.
Days later, the war hero offers words of comfort to the son of a different kind of hero, a fallen New York City Fire Chief.
Sen. McCain: Your father and the other firefighters will be a example to me about what America is all about.
He has harsh words for those responsible
Sen. McCain: God may have mercy on these terrorists, but we will not, we will not.
Months later, campaign finance legislation, largely forgotten in the aftermath of Sept. 11, is revived.
After the collapse of Enron, and revelations that the energy company contributed nearly $6 million to political campaigns, supporters of reform get enough signatures to bring the issue back for a vote. This time it passes and the president signs it into law despite continued Republican opposition.
Sen. McCain: What we've really done for a couple hundred million Americans is to give them the opportunity to be heard again here in our nation's capitol.
In 2004 John McCain is elected to his fourth term as U.S. senator from Arizona.
He alienates conservatives with his positions on some hot button topics like immigration, but remains squarely behind President Bush when it comes to the war in Iraq.
In April 2007, just after returning from a trip to visit U.S. troops in Baghdad, Senator McCain announces he is going to make another run for the White House.
Sen. McCain: I don't seek the office out of entitlement. I owe America more than she has ever owed me. I'm not running for president to be somebody, but to do something; to do the hard but necessary things.
All does not go smoothly on the campaign trail. A few months after entering the race McCain shakes up his staff when the campaign comes up short on cash and short in the polls.
But McCain is determined and by the New Hampshire primary he hits his stride.
Sen. McCain: I always told you the truth, as best as I can see the truth. And you did me the great honor of listening.
By early February he's well ahead in the delegate count and his primary rival Mitt Romney suspends his campaign.
Sen. McCain: I know I have a responsibility, if I am, as I hope to be, the Republican nominee for president, to unite the party and prepare for the great contest in November.
On President's Day, a boost from former President Bush:
Former President George H.W. Bush: And the indisputable fact that unites the greatest number of Republicans, the most independents and many good Democrats as well, is the fact that no one is better prepared to lead our nation at these trying times than Senator John McCain.
Senator John McCain has made a huge comeback, and he is the presumptive Republican nominee for president, but he has his work cut out for him to unify the Republican Party behind his candidacy.
And things only get more complicated when the New York Times runs an article alleging that during McCain’s first run for the White House, members of his staff were concerned about an improper, perhaps romantic, relationship between the Senator and a female lobbyist named Vicki Iseman.
Both McCain and the lobbyist deny any romantic relationship and McCain, his wife by his side, defended his integrity.
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Sen. McCain: At no time have I ever done anything that would betray the public trust.
And he is determined to focus on his campaign and the work in front of him as he continues his run for the White House.
Sen. McCain: I will continue to serve, and I focus my attention in this campaign on the big issues, on the challenges that face this country. I think that's what the American people are very interested in hearing about.
Click for more of the Decision 2008 series |
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