John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936) is the senior United States Senator from Arizona and presidential nominee of the Republican Party in the 2008 presidential election.
McCain graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958. He became a naval aviator, flying ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. During the Vietnam War, he nearly lost his life in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. Later that year while on a bombing mission over North Vietnam, he was shot down, badly injured, and captured as a prisoner of war by the North Vietnamese. He was held from 1967 to 1973, experiencing episodes of torture and refusing an out-of-sequence early repatriation offer; his war wounds left him with lifelong physical limitations.
He retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981, moved to Arizona, and entered politics. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, he served two terms, and was then elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, winning re-election easily in 1992, 1998, and 2004. While generally adhering to conservative principles, McCain at times has had a media reputation as a "maverick" for disagreeing with his party on several key issues. After being investigated and largely exonerated in a political influence scandal of the 1980s as a member of the "Keating Five," he made campaign finance reform one of his signature concerns, which eventually led to the passage of the McCain-Feingold Act in 2002. He is also known for his work towards restoring diplomatic relations with Vietnam in the 1990s, and for his belief that the war in Iraq should be fought to a successful conclusion in the 2000s. McCain has chaired the Senate Commerce Committee, has opposed pork barrel spending, and played a key role in alleviating a crisis over judicial nominations.
McCain lost his bid for the Republican nomination in the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush. He ran again for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, and gained enough delegates to become the party's presumptive nominee in March 2008. McCain was formally nominated at the 2008 Republican National Convention in September 2008, together with his chosen running mate from Alaska, Governor Sarah Palin.
Lower the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%. Allow first-year deductions of equipment and technology investments for new businesses, and establish a permanent research and development tax credit equal to 10% of wages spent on R&D.
Extend the 2003 tax cuts through 2010. Maintain current tax rates on income, investment dividends, and capital gains. Reduce the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%. Decrease estate taxes to 15%, and raise the estate tax exemption to $10 million. Allow business to deduct equipment costs. Prohibit new mobile phone taxes and eliminate Internet taxes. Establish a tax credit equal to 10% of wages spent on R&D. Double the $3,500 child deduction credit.
Opposed to using taxes to bail out who failed to perform due diligence in assessing credit risks. Provide manageable loans to over-exposed home owners who committed to sub-prime mortgage after 2005, and only for primary residences. Opposed to bailing out real estate speculators or financial market participants who failed to perform due diligence in assessing credit risks.
Supports multilateral, regional and bilateral efforts to reduce barriers to trade, level the global playing field and tighten enforcement of global trading rules. Where ever possible, replace protectionist policies with trade treaties. Eliminate subsidies on ethanol and other agricultural products.
Provide healthcare tax dividends to low-income people, and a refundable tax credit of $2,500 to all individuals and $5,000 for families. Reform the tax code to support health savings accounts. Help small businesses bargain collectively for lower rates from providers. Toughen malpractice laws to protect doctors who obey clinical guidelines and adhere to safety protocols. Increase funding for healthcare information systems. Foster greater competition for drugs and better access to generics.
Recreate an independent agency for Public Diplomacy. Set up a civil-military agency patterned after the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. Create an Army Adviser Corps with 20,000 soldiers to collaborate with allied forces abroad. Increase personnel in information operations, Special Forces, civil affairs, military policing, and military intelligence. Increase Military personnel and spend more on defense budget. Close the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.
Supports U.S. military force in Iraq, and is opposed to setting a timetable for withdrawal. Supports the United Nations playing a role in monitoring provincial government elections in 2008 and national government elections in 2009. Institute microfinance programs to spur entrepreneurship throughout the country, in collaboration with the international community. Supports U.S.-Iraqi negotiations for a Status of Forces Agreement.
Support efforts by the international community pressure to Syria Iran to halt it's support of Shia militias in Iraq, and it's domestic nuclear program. Bolster the U.S. military presence in the Middle East to discourage Iran from interfering in the affairs of neighboring states.
Send three additional brigades to Afghanistan and double the size of the Afghan army. Co-finance the effort with a trust fund, with contributions from allies. Apply the Iraqi counter-insurgency strategy to the Afghanistan conflict. Appoint an Afghanistan Czar, to report directly to the President. Appoint a Presidential envoy to address disputes between Afghanistan and its neighbors. Crack down on narcotics trafficking and empower border tribes between Pakistan and Afghanistan to fight terrorism.
Defends Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. Provide military equipment and technology and ensuring that Israel can defend itself against attack from its neighbors. Warns that Iran's nuclear weapons program poses an unacceptable risk to the U.S. and Israel. Supports ongoing negotiations toward peace between Israel and the Palestinians, with or without Hamas. Supports a Lebanese government that has a monopoly on authority, and opposes independent militias including Hezbollah.
