Big Surprise: John McCain is a Politician

Politicians have a history of being less than clean. John McCain is no exception to the rule. He has had a history of questionable choices. The New York Times published an article today detailing McCain's mistakes, and he is not happy about it.

An interesting article was published by the New York Times today about the dealings of John McCain. The objective, from what I could gather, was not to smear Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain, but rather to inform of his past dealings. The political platform that McCain runs on is based on his integrity. He stands as a war hero and a straight edge conservative. His past dealings say otherwise though, and that is why this article is important. Through the 1980's, John McCain had questionable dealings with a man named Charles Keating. Keating was behind one of the biggest Savings and Loan scandals of all time, costing taxpayers billions of dollars. McCain flew on private jets as a guest of Mr. Keating, a congressional violation. McCain's wife also entered into a business venture with Mr. Keating, creating a conflict of interests. McCain also vacationed in the Bahamas with Keating. McCain went above and beyond the levels of friendship when he used his political status to attempt to sway Federal Banking Regulators. His goal was to hold them off for Keating, as Mr. Keating assumed control of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association. Keating invested using funds from the Savings and Loan on risky investments that eventually failed. McCain was at the center of the controversy that would eventually become known as the Keating Five. Keating would eventually go to prison and three other senators careers were over. McCain received a slap on the wrist. This is the history of John McCain. Not the entire history, of course, but an important piece nonetheless, as this man is vying to become the most powerful man in the free world. I am not saying that he is a bad man, nor am I saying that he is a good man. This piece is important because it shows a history that McCain would like forgotten. He has had other issues since then, but none have been publicized like this. John McCain wants to become president, and a man should be judged not only by his intentions, but also by his past, and unfortunately, in John McCain's case, his past transgressions create a lot of questions marks when looking at his future intentions as the President of the United States of America.