McCain graduated in the bottom 1% of his flight school class. He was number 894 out of a class of 899...?

Question

at the Naval Academy at Annapolis. Shortly thereafter, he went on to lose a total of 5 Navy aircraft. The first 4 he lost were due to pure accidents completely unrelated to combat. The fifth and last aircraft that he lost was when he was shot down over Vietnam after logging about 20 combat hours.

Was McCain unqualified to serve as a Navy pilot?

Additional Details

McCain got into in the Navy flight school because his father and grandfather were both admirals. Universities may admit legacy students, but should military schools be following the same practice? When Harvard admits and graduates someone who is unqualified, the only harm that occurs is that the university's reputation is tarnished. When the military does the same thing, what's put at risk is America's national security.

Should the military stop accepting people based on their legacy status? Should they accept people solely on merit, like General Wesley Clark, who graduated valedictorian at West Point and then went on to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar? Clearly, with talent like that, Clark was no legacy student.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Since he completed 23 successful missions before being shot down that final time and was also a squadron leader I'm going with no..

Answer 2

I guess that qualifies him to be President also. (sarcasm)

Answer 3

I'm willing to bet you couldn't even get into Annapolis... so that would mean Liberals wouldn't be good enough to even be accepted... using liberal logic.

Answer 4

Is Barrack qualified to be commander in chief? After all he was a community organizer.

Answer 5

Turnabout is fair play.
Lets Swiftboat him!

Answer 6

This sounds a lot like Bush.

Oh, so chilling.

Answer 7

So what's your point? He served his country, flew several successful missions and was shot down in Vietnam. He endured years of torture as a POW. He served his country in congress for years. What have YOU done for our country?

Answer 8

yep, it appears he couldn't even do his chosen profession very well, He might even surpass George W. Bush as the worst President ever given half a chance

Answer 9

If what you say is true then I'm not sure he should have been flying a Navy Aircraft. How many of us would want a surgeon operating on us who graduated at the bottom 1% of their class?

I'm not sure what this has to do with his politics in general but in regards to his military record it doesn't really do him any good. Still amazing to me though he was able to endure 5 years in a POW camp. The guy does have heart.

Answer 10

Try this on for size...
John Kennedy got his PT boat shot out from under him, and he is widely accepted as one of the best Presidents ever. Would he be considered unqualified?
Accidents happen in training. Flying is an inherently dangerous occupation. And you can't blame anybody for getting shot down. Why don't you try to fly a jet at mach 1, get your bombs on target (without taking out a school or hospital), AND dodge incoming Surface to Air Missiles...not to mention the regular anti aircraft fire that was constant in target rich areas in Vietnam. It was a WAR, people die, others get wounded, and still others got captured and tortured for many years by the most cruel bastards on the face of the earth!
Remember that since being repatriated he served another 6 years in the Navy as a squadron commander, then went on to many years in the Senate. All this with only partial use of his arms, and a wicked limp.
At least he didn't shoot himself in the foot like some other recent candidates. I think you should cut the guy some slack.

Answer 11

And Barack was a cokehead who embraced radical leftists who hated America.

I'll take the guy who served his country honorably over the whiny puss leftist.