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richCares it seems that the first time this cross story showed up, McCain told it about an American prisoner (not himself) it has since morphed, he is now the prisoner. Is it dementia or lies? can ayone defend McCain's own speech as in excerpt below?
Story originally came from:
Alexander Solzhenitsyn's "The Gulag Archipelago" - 1973 (of whom McCain is a fan)THE 2000 CAMPAIGN; Excerpt From McCain's Speech:
Many years ago a scared American prisoner of war in Vietnam was tied in torture ropes by his tormentors and left alone in an empty room to suffer through the night. Later in the evening a guard he had never spoken to entered the room and silently loosened the ropes to relieve his suffering. Just before morning, that same guard came back and re-tightened the ropes before his less humanitarian comrades returned. He never said a word to the grateful prisoner, but some months later, on a Christmas morning, as the prisoner stood alone in the prison courtyard, the same good Samaritan walked up to him and stood next to him for a few moments. Then with his sandal, the guard drew a cross in the dirt. Both prisoner and guard both stood wordlessly there for a minute or two, venerating the cross, until the guard rubbed it out and walked away.NY Times 2000 link to McCain’s Nov 2000 speech: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9904EFDE1239F93AA15751C0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
McCain’s Borrowed “Cross in the Sand” Story
Balloon Juice —
I think there is pretty solid evidence that he’s just copying other peoples’ shit.
1. The story sounds very much like a Solzhenitsyn story (via Sullivan) Leaving his shovel on the ground, he slowly walked to a crude bench and sat down. He knew that at any moment a guard would order him to stand up, and when he failed to respond, the guard would beat him to death, probably with his own shovel. He had seen it happen to other prisoners.
As he waited, head down, he felt a presence. Slowly he looked up and saw a skinny old prisoner squat ...
McCain’s Borrowed “Cross in the Sand” Story
Balloon Juice —
I think there is pretty solid evidence that he’s just copying other peoples’ shit.
1. The story sounds very much like a Solzhenitsyn story (via Sullivan) Leaving his shovel on the ground, he slowly walked to a crude bench and sat down. He knew that at any moment a guard would order him to stand up, and when he failed to respond, the guard would beat him to death, probably with his own shovel. He had seen it happen to other prisoners.
As he waited, head down, he felt a presence. Slowly he looked up and saw a skinny old prisoner squat ...
What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits
JustOneMinute —
Excitable Andy has decided to Swift Boat John McCain: I've now heard it countless times. McCain has used what appears to be an intensely personal moment in a prison camp as a reason to vote for him in a campaign ad. As he tells it today, it was the pivotal moment in his struggle to survive in the Hanoi Hilton. And yet, in his first thorough account of his time in captivity, in 1973, the ...
What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits
JustOneMinute —
Excitable Andy has decided to Swift Boat John McCain: I've now heard it countless times. McCain has used what appears to be an intensely personal moment in a prison camp as a reason to vote for him in a campaign ad. As he tells it today, it was the pivotal moment in his struggle to survive in the Hanoi Hilton. And yet, in his first thorough account of his time in captivity, in 1973, the ...
Saddlegate?
The Moderate Voice —
... So, the first issue is a charge amplified by Andrew Sullivan that John McCain may have cribbed the poignant “cross in the sand” story from Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Indeed, one of the most touching moments of the forum last night was John McCain’s shared Christian fellowship with his North Vietnamese prison guard: ...
Saddlegate?
The Moderate Voice —
... So, the first issue is a charge amplified by Andrew Sullivan that John McCain may have cribbed the poignant “cross in the sand” story from Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Indeed, one of the most touching moments of the forum last night was John McCain’s shared Christian fellowship with his North Vietnamese prison guard: ...
"Drew A Cross In The Sand" References You Might Appreciate
Riehl World View —
... But don't let these confuse you. Obviously Solzhenitsen's fellow prisoner is the only soul to have ever actually drawn a cross in the sand. We know this to be true because St. Andrew has now told us so. ...
Crosses and Abortion Bills
QandO —
On the left, accusations that John McCain stole his "cross in the dirt" anecdote which he told at Saddleback, from Alexander Solzhenitsen. Andrew Sullivan: ...
Did McCain Plagiarize Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn?
Hoffmania! —
... It's an odd place to be ripping off a story, but Sullivan wants to know exactly when McCain began incorporating a POW story he used in a campaign ad last December into his repertoire. 'Cuz it ain't in his memoirs, but it's sure in Solzhenitsyn's. ...
That Cross Story
Shakesville —
... traction other than here in the blogosphere; there's no way of proving it true or false unless you can find the guard in question -- in either Vietnam or Russia -- and get them to tell it. And of course the media isn't going to touch it; after all, John McCain's service in the Vietnam war is unassailable, and no honorable person would ever dare call into question a veteran's service or mock them for the heroism that they displayed during the war. Just ask John Kerry. HT to Andrew Sullivan. (Cross-posted -- no pun intended -- from Bark Bark Woof Woof.)
No More Mister Nice Blog — ... A Daily Kos diarist named rickrocket has determined that a story John McCain tells repeatedly, about a prison guard in Hanoi who drew a cross in the dirt one Christmas, ...
John McCain’s Cross In the Dirt: Faith Of Someone Else’s Father
Firedoglake —
... Yes, I'm touched too. But as Andrew Sullivan notes this morning, McCain managed to leave this pivotal emotional moment out of his 1973 biography. ...
No Common Ground?
Confederate Yankee —
... and Andy Sullivan but I repeat myself have decided to accuse former POW John McCain of stealing a story from Alexander Solzhenitsyn, a Russian sent to the gulags (forced labor camps) for writing ill of Stalin in a letter to a friend... a typical application of the Soviet version of the Fairness Doctrine. Here is McCain's story: Solzhenitsyn's tale read: Leaving his shovel on the ground, he slowly walked to a crude bench and sat down. He knew that at any moment a guard would order him to stand up, and when he failed to respond, the guard would beat him to death, probably with ...
8/18: Back In The Saddle
Blogometer —
... that McCain's anecdote about his secretly Christian prison guard was modeled after a story told by Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn : The Atlantic 's Andrew Sullivan : "I've now heard [this story] countless times. McCain has used what appears to be an intensely personal moment in a prison camp as a reason to vote for him in a ...
Jeremiah Denton Must be Lying, Too
Confederate Yankee —
Jeremiah Denton Must be Lying, Too As Andrew Sullivan , Jane Hamsher , Steve Benen , and other liberal bloggers try to discredit John McCain's story of compassion shown by a North Vietnamese prison guard as being stolen from a similar experience related between Russian author Solzhenitsyn and another prisoner, I'm forced to ask: when are the going to go after Jeremiah Denton? Denton was another U.S Navy pilot shot down in Vietnam, a contemporary of McCain's in the same brutal North Vietnamese prisons ... and also the beneficiary of surprising Christian ...
The Cross in the Dirt brouhaha
Betsy's Page —
Monday, August 18, 2008 The Cross in the Dirt brouhaha This weekend Andrew Sullivan raised a fuss by questioning John McCain's moving story of having been inspired as a POW when a guard loosened the ropes binding him and then later drew a cross in the dirt. ...
Andrew Sullivan then versus now
Sister Toldjah —
June 30, 2008:
McCain himself disowned the Swift Boat nutters in 2004 as “dishonest and dishonorable.” I find both attempts to smear the war records of people who volunteered to fight for their country to be repellent. But the far right is too invested in the politics of Vietnam to take the high road.
August 17, 2008:
I’ve now heard it countless times. McCain has used what appears to be an intensely personal moment in a prison camp as a reason ...
Looks Like Sully Is Serious
JustOneMinute —
... of deploring the "Swiftboating" of John Kerry, remains determined to call into question John McCain's story about a Vietnamese prison guard drawing a cross in the dirt at Christmas. Here is his initial post and ...
The Case of Jerome Corsi
Ross Douthat —
... fun of Barack Obama's political style, calling attention to the controversial public utterances of Michelle Obama and Jeremiah Wright, etc.) as inherently racist and hatemongering, conservatives need to be very clear about where the line actually is, and what sort of attacks are actually beyond the pale and worth condemning. In a related vein, I can't help noticing that Andrew has decided to elevate this campaign's tone with eleven posts (and counting, as I write) about the possibility that ...
LEFTY CAMPAIGN FOLLIES
Right Wing Nut House —
... Incredibly, Andy Sullivan was roused to a fever pitch and actually posted numerous times (starting with this one) about “questions” regarding the story. Excitable Andy – always willing to accuse others of smearing Obama – can’t quite bring himself to make the psychic connection here and see himself denigrating and smearing a war hero. Two former POW’s have now come out and said McCain told them the story back when and Andy still beats the dead horse, hoping he can rouse the beast through sheer repetitive blows. ...
McCain's Veteran Problem
BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash —
... showing that active troops overseas are donating 6:1 to Obama over McCain. As a former POW, McCain talks a great deal about his experiences in the military. He relied heavily on his experience as a former soldier and prisoner of war at Saturday's forum at Rick Warren's Saddleback church, and the stories made him a big hit with the Evangelical audience as well as many cable news pundits afterward. ( Though some disputed their accuracy. ) In a 12,000-word ...
McCain's integrity and credibility
Citizen Crain —
... McCain's story of the guard in the Hanoi prison during Christmas of 1969 has been analyzed and there is strong evidence that this story was made up for his book and run for the presidency in 1999. It was never mentioned prior to 1999, including in a 12,000 word report on his captivity or in his prior writings about his Christmases in captivity. There is further suggestion that the story was borrowed from Solzhenitsyn. Andrew Sullivan does a good job of getting to the bottom of this here , ...
Every Time the Poll Numbers Rise, a Kook Gets His Wings
Hit & Run —
... When McCain was surging two months ago, theories swirled about the veracity of his "cross in the sand" story. During that fortnight when Sarah Palin was popular and credible, people questioned whether her youngest son was really hers. Now McCain is fading, so: Back to the Obamaswamp! And the latest Obama conspiracy is... well, I wouldn't say the best (not while a ...
