Group Reaction to "The Wars of John McCain"

After reading the article, "The Wars of John McCain," our group had mixed reactions. It first brought into question whether John McCain's goal for victory a reflection of an antiquated pre-Vietnam mind-set. Is John McCain preoccupied and obsessing for victory based on the results of the Vietnam War, or is he committing to a set of principles that we forsake when all hope is lost? We were also wondering that if McCain's "quest" for victory really is a reflection of his Vietnam War mind-set, is this the mind-set of a leader or of his self-satisfying needs. We all understood that McCain does not want to "lose" the war. He even made a profound "McCain-like" statement that was in a way grandstanding: "I'd rather lose an election than lose a war." McCain stated that "he understood the profoundness of losing the war" and that only a person with his "life experiences could understand that." Overall, the article piqued our interest as to the "real" mindset of a presidential candidate: one who commits to principles or one who is caught in the past.