Republican from Arizona
John McCain is a U.S. senator from Arizona, a post he has held since 1986. He previously served two terms in the U.S. House. McCain is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and spent his career in the military, as his father did. He was a combat pilot in Vietnam who was shot down and spent 5 1/2 years as a prisonor of war. He was born in 1936 in Panama. He and his wife, Cindy, have four children together. McCain also has three children from his first marriage.
Recent statements involving John McCain
"The president's plan, even after the end of its withdrawal timeline is reached, will leave in place up to 50,000 U.S. troops."
A new presidential helicopter "is now going to cost as much as Air Force One."
"The McCain campaign is roughly in the position where Vice President Gore was running against President Bush one week before the election of 2000."
Recent stories featuring John McCain
Fact-checking new claims in the Sarah Palin book:
We examine Sarah Palin's claims on the Reagan recession, cap and trade and the McCain tactics on ACORN.
Hannity junkyard scheme is a clunker:
Sean Hannity says it's possible to game the system with the used car program. We examine the facts to see if it's possible.
Sen. John McCain contends President Barack Obama has more czars than the Romanovs did in Russia. We take a stab at counting the Obama czars and then dig into the history books to see if McCain is right.
What caused crisis? No one thing:
Each candidate blames the other. They're both right. And wrong.
Your guide to the last-minute attacks:
In their final days on the trail, the candidates repeat their favorite talking points. We check them on the Truth-O-Meter.
We want to hear your suggestions and comments. For tips or comments on our campaign promise database, please e-mail the Obameter. If you are commenting on a specific promise, please include the promise number. For comments about our Truth-O-Meter or Flip-O-Meter items, please e-mail the Truth-O-Meter. We’re especially interested in seeing any chain e-mails you receive that you would like us to check out.
PolitiFact is a project of the St. Petersburg Times to help you find the truth in American politics. Reporters and editors from the Times fact-check statements by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists and interest groups and rate them on our Truth-O-Meter. We’re also tracking more than 500 of Barack Obama’s campaign promises and are rating their progress on our new Obameter. >> More
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