Biography of John McCain

John Sidney McCain III was born August 29, 1936. He was the senior United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party presidential nominee during the 2008 presidential election.

In 1958, John McCain graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and became a naval aviator who flew ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. In October of 1967, his plane was shot down and he was captured by the North Vietnamese where he stayed as a prisoner of war until 1973. He experienced several episodes of torture.

In 1981, McCain retired from the Navy and moved to Arizona to enter politics. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982 and served two terms before being elected into the U.S. Senate in 1986. He won re-election for the same office in 1992, 1998, 2004, and 2010. Even though McCain is seen as a "maverick" amongst the media, he holds a lifetime 83% conservative ranking rated by the American Conservative Union.

After being exonerated from the politcal scandal of the 1980s as a member of the Keating Five, he campaigned for finance reform which was passed as the McCain-Feingold Act in 2002. He is known for his work towards restoring diplomated relations with Vietnam. McCain has chaired the Senate Commerce Committee and opposed spending on pork barrel projects. He has also been known for playing key roles in judicial nominations.

In 2000, McCain lost to George W. Bush for the Republican Party nomination; however, in 2008 he won and selected Sarah Palin as his running-mate. He then went up against Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential Elections and lost.

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