McCain no example of family values

John McCain, a great American war hero, spent five and a half years in a POW camp, while at home his devoted, beautiful, swimsuit-model wife was raising his three children alone, awaiting his rescue. When he returned, it wasn't to the attractive, willowy, woman he had married, but to a broken, disfigured, crippled woman who had endured her own torture.

She was in a near-fatal crash, endured 23 surgeries and six months in a hospital with a lifetime of pain ahead of her. His caring response, "I don't look so good myself, it's fine." Not Cindy; this was his first wife, Carol.

Within a few months he was trying out future Mrs. John McCains. It took a while, but he finally hit the jackpot.

In 1979, still married to Carol, he met young, beautiful and very rich Cindy Hensley at a cocktail party in Hawaii. Within a year, he dumped Carol and their children and married the beautiful heiress—18 years his junior.

Everyone seems to think his POW experience is off-limits to political scrutiny, but since he continually uses it to dodge legitimate questions about his qualifications, I think it's fair game to talk about how he came to be there.

He was a well-known partyer and discipline problem for the Navy; he graduated third from the bottom in his class. He constantly disobeyed orders and ignored regulations. He was disobeying orders, flying lower than he was commanded to, when he was shot down. Maybe if he had done what his superiors told him, instead of being the "maverick," he could have successfully completed his mission.

This is the man who's going to listen to "commanders on the ground" regarding Iraq?

While he and his surrogates are working overtime to spread lies about his opponent, they're also busy trying to keep the truth from the American public.

So there you have John McCain, the great moral compass of the party that likes to think it has an exclusive on God and decency.

I'll trust the man who's shown good judgment both in his personal and professional life. Sherry Jensen Thousand Oaks