No hero, McCain's out of touch with us

Looks like my letter questioning John McCain's heroism upset some of his hero worshippers.

Luckily, I didn't criticize John Wayne as I'd probably have to go into hiding.

But I stand by my original contention that ejecting from his aircraft and surrendering to the enemy is not heroic.

No doubt it was the smart thing to do, but it was not heroic. It was to save his own life.

His five-plus years in a POW camp were no doubt very unpleasant, but he was offered early release and he refused it and sat out most of the war while his fellow naval aviators were fighting and dying.

His reasons for refusal have changed at least three times so I don't know for sure why he elected to remain a POW.

I'd been mostly a lifelong Republican until the present administration and was hoping the Republicans would field a candidate that I could vote for this time.

However, McCain is not that person as he is completely out of touch with the average American. I don't think most people realize that he has never held a real job in the private sector.

We taxpayers have supported him his entire life. We paid for his diapers, his braces, his food and clothing and his education through college (Annapolis).

From there, he spent 22 years in the Navy and ran for Congress soon after retiring from that.

For good measure, he married a wealthy woman and currently has seven homes scattered around the world.

McCain has never had to meet a payroll, pay a medical bill, worry about unemployment or save for his children's' education.

Since his father and grandfather were career naval officers and he attended elite private schools, he was never exposed to real American life in his formative years and has no idea of what the average American goes through trying to stay afloat.

I've voted in every presidential election since 1944, but I'll likely sit this one out as I don't want to feel even partly responsible for what either of the two current candidates will do to us.

John Hurley

Palatine