# Has John McCain Lost His Mind? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 28, 2013, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524 "2013-05-28T06:02:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/1 "2013-05-28T06:02:06Z")
Reading about his trip to Syria made me pause-what on earth does he think he is doing? First, we do have a President and Sec. of State-they are the ones handling foreign policy. Second, he is meeting with people affiliated with Al Queda-which we have expended thousands of lives and trillions of $$ in fighting. Third-he has no mandate to involve the USA in yet another war. I am no fan of Obama-but he is right with regard to Syria-to get involved in this war would be absolutely crazy. So has McCain lost it? I suspect he is suffering from early onset Alzheimers…or is it just that he never met a war he doesn’t like? ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/2 "2013-05-28T06:59:28Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > So has McCain lost it? I suspect he is suffering from early onset Alzheimers..or is it just that he never met a war he doesn’t like? Maybe it’s a little of column A, a little of column B, a smidgen of column C, with a dash of good old-fashioned showboat politicking thrown in? He’s kinda been bad at the last one, this would be par for him, I think. I can’t think of a good reason to do what he did, either. Maybe he knows and hasn’t had a chance to tell us what it is? ---
**Author:** ![Randvek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a6a055/32.png) [@Randvek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randvek)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/3 "2013-05-28T07:16:23Z")
McCain has been around a long time. Syria’s Assad has been around a long time, too. McCain doesn’t trust Russia, and you can be damn sure he remembers Assad siding with the Soviets. I don’t necessarily agree with him, but I can see where he is coming from. And if we catch Syria in the act of using chemical weapons? Obama has a mandate. Turkey and Syria get into it? NATO mandate. Israel and Syria? Well, I don’t even need to say that one. And I do believe that each of those possibilities has a very real chance of coming to pass. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/4 "2013-05-28T07:33:24Z")
> [@Randvek](#): > > McCain has been around a long time. Syria’s Assad has been around a long time, too. McCain doesn’t trust Russia, and you can be damn sure he remembers Assad siding with the Soviets. I don’t necessarily agree with him, but I can see where he is coming from. And if we catch Syria in the act of using chemical weapons? Obama has a mandate. Turkey and Syria get into it? NATO mandate. Israel and Syria? Well, I don’t even need to say that one. And I do believe that each of those possibilities has a very real chance of coming to pass. What does that have to do with a Senator trying to do someone else’s job? It’s possible that McCain himself would be the one forcing the president’s hand. ---
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/5 "2013-05-28T11:31:44Z")
Isn’t this treason? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/6 "2013-05-28T11:36:14Z")
There is no way that McCain would have pulled off this stunt if anyone else was in the White House. This is just his way of saying that he has no respect for Obama and doesn’t see any reason to let him conduct foreign policy without as much interference as possible. Something deep in his psyche just won’t let the 2008 election go and he just can’t resist any chance to extend the middle digit to Obama. Part of it is his desire to start a war, any war. He loves war as much as he hates Obama. He very likely wanted to find someone he could cozy up to as the “good guy” and then commit the military to backing that side. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/7 "2013-05-28T11:53:02Z")
> [@Latro](#): > > Isn’t this treason? Why? Senators can talk to whomever they like. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/8 "2013-05-28T12:16:36Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Why? Senators can talk to whomever they like. Conservatives were just as upset as the people in this thread are today when Pelosi visited Syria in 2007. They seethed and said that negotiating with foreign governments was a power exclusive to the executive branch. More reasonable people said it was a stupid visit but that negotiating is basically a fancy word to talking to somebody. The visit and ire over the visit seem just as stupid now that it’s McCain doing it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/9 "2013-05-28T12:17:49Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I suspect he is suffering from early onset Alzheimers.. He is 76 years old. Early onset? [From one Alzheimer’s page:](http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/alzheimers/qanda.shtm) > [@](#): > > 1. What is the age of most people with Alzheimer’s disease? > An estimated 5.2 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer’s disease in 2013. This includes an estimated 5 million people age 65 and older and approximately 200,000 individuals under age 65 who have younger-onset Alzheimer’s. > • One in nine people age 65 and older (11 percent) has Alzheimer’s disease. > • About one-third of people age 85 and older (32 percent) have Alzheimer’s disease. > • Of those with Alzheimer’s disease, an estimated 4 percent are under age 65, 13 percent are 65 to 74, 44 percent are 75 to 84, and 38 percent are 85 or older. ---
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/10 "2013-05-28T12:52:56Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Why? Senators can talk to whomever they like. > [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > Conservatives were just as upset as the people in this thread are today when Pelosi visited Syria in 2007. Really? ‘Just talking’ and ‘the Dems did it too’. :rolleyes: So, as there are no valid counter arguments; Arrest him! ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/11 "2013-05-28T13:42:35Z")
You go do that, then. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/12 "2013-05-28T13:46:54Z")
> [@Latro](#): > > Isn’t this treason? > [@Latro](#): > > So, as there are no valid counter arguments; Arrest him! [18 USC § 2381 - Treason](http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2381) > [@](#): > > Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States. I invite you to make the case that McCain is committing treason. ---
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/13 "2013-05-28T14:00:53Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > 18 USC § 2381 - Treason > Quote: > Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States. Is that all that falls under the header ‘treason’ ? “Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere”. That’s it? Well, I must say, that’s not much to go on, no. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/14 "2013-05-28T14:10:10Z")
> [@Latro](#): > > Is that all that falls under the header ‘treason’ ? > > “Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere”. > > That’s it? > > Well, I must say, that’s not much to go on, no. That’s it, yes. Treason is unique in that it’s [defined in the Constitution:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_Three_of_the_United_States_Constitution#Section_3:_Treason) > [@Article Three](#): > > Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court. The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted. Thus, Congress is limited in defining treason to what the Constitution specifes above. The statute I linked to does that, and specifies the penalty. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/15 "2013-05-28T14:22:10Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Second, he is meeting with people affiliated with Al Queda… “Affiliated”? In what way? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/16 "2013-05-28T14:25:51Z")
In that they are fighting an enemy certain AQ elements are also fighting. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/17 "2013-05-28T14:27:12Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Reading about his trip to Syria made me pause-what on earth does he think he is doing? First, we do have a President and Sec. of State-they are the ones handling foreign policy. How do you know he is not acting with their approval? ---
**Author:** ![Dana\_Scully](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@Dana\_Scully](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dana_Scully)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/18 "2013-05-28T14:54:15Z")
John McCain is a senile old fool. Thank God he didn’t get elected president. What if he’d been forced our of office by illness or death? Can you imagine Sarah Palin as president? :eek: eeeeeeeeeeeeeek! ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/19 "2013-05-28T15:00:11Z")
The President really can’t do much damage on their own in our system. They need Congress to declare war, the Senate to satify treaties and appointments, they can’t pass or even introduce legislation on their own, their vetoes can be overruled, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524/20 "2013-05-28T15:11:09Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > The President really can’t do much damage on their own in our system. They need Congress to declare war . . . Heh-heh! Good one! 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-john-mccain-lost-his-mind/659524.md?page=2)