McCain, John Sidney, 3d, 1936–2018, U.S. politician, b. Panama Canal Zone. A much decorated navy veteran, he was born into a career naval family and attended the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1958. He became a pilot and during the Vietnam War was shot down over Hanoi (1967), captured, and tortured; he was released in 1973. Retiring as a highly decorated captain in 1981, he was elected (1982) as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona and served two terms. In 1986 he first won election to the U.S. Senate, where he served until his death. A personally appealing leader with generally conservative views, he was noted for his bluff honesty, quick wit, and outspoken manner. McCain was particularly active in attempting to forge a bipartisan coalition for campaign-finance reform and, in 2005, for banning cruel and inhuman treatment of any prisoner in U.S. custody. He chaired the Senate committee on Indian affairs (1995–97, 2005–7), on commerce, science, and transportation (1995–2001, 2003–5), and on armed services (2015–18). McCain was an unsuccessful candidate for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination, losing in the primaries to George W. Bush. In 2007–8, however, he mounted a successful campaign for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. He chose the conservative Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, but they lost to Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden. He later was a frank and pointed critic of President Donald Trump, who made McCain an object of his ire and disdain.
See his memoirs, Faith of My Fathers (2000) and Worth the Fighting For (2002); E. Drew, Citizen McCain (2002); P. Alexander, Man of the People (2002).
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