Georgians
ქართველები
Kartvelebi

David IV Tamar of Georgia George V Petre Bagrationi Mary Eristavi Joseph Stalin Ekaterine Dadiani Konstantine Abkhazi Lamara Chkonia George Balanchine Rustaveli E. Shevardnadze John Shalikashvili Katie Melua Ambrosius I. Chavchavadze
Total population
c. 4.3[1] — 5 million
Regions with significant populations
Georgia 3,956,000[2]
Russia 198,944[3] European Union 250,000[citation needed]  United States 200,000[citation needed]  Israel 72,000[4]  Turkey 91,500[1]  Ukraine 34,199[5]  Greece 23,159[6]  Brazil 20,750[citation needed]  Azerbaijan 14,900[7]  Japan 14,000  Italy 12,670  Kazakhstan 4,990[8]  Singapore 3,500  France 2,500  Canada 2,500  Armenia 1,105  Argentina 1,050  Mexico 1,000  United Kingdom 3500
Languages
Georgian (including Mingrelian and Svan), Russian (about 10% of the population)[2]
Religion
Predominantly † Eastern Orthodox Christianity (Georgian Orthodox Church) (83.9%) also some Georgiano-Latin, Greek, and Armenian rites of the Roman Catholic Church (0.8%). Muslim minority (9.9%), chiefly Sunnis of the Hanafi school.[9] In diaspora (Chveneburis, Saingilo and Fereydanians) mainly Islam
Related ethnic groups
Laz

Part of a series on
Georgians ქართველები
The Kartvelian people
Nation
Georgia
Ancient Kartvelian people
Iberians · Colchians
Subgroups
Mingrelians · Svans · Adjarians · Khevsurians · Tushetians · Chveneburi
Culture
Music · Media · Sport · Calligraphy · Cinema · Cuisine · Dances · Costume · Calendar · Mythology · Architecture
Language
Alphabet · Dialects · Grammar
Religion
Georgian Orthodox Church Christianity · Catholicism Islam · Judaism Saint Nino · Saint George
Symbols
Borjgali · Cross of Bolnisi · Grapevine cross · Cross of Saint George
History of Georgia
v t e

The Georgians (Georgian: ქართველები, kartvelebi) are Caucasian ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America.

The majority of Georgians are Eastern Orthodox Christian and largely adhere to the national autocephalous Georgian Orthodox Church, which originated in the 4th century. There are also Georgian Catholic and Muslim communities in Tbilisi and Adjara.

The Georgian people went through a complex process of nation-formation and currently comprise a diverse set of geographic subgroups, each with its characteristic traditions, manners, dialect and, in the case of Mingrelians and Svans, language. The Georgian language, with its own alphabet and long written tradition going back to the 5th century, is the language of literacy and education of all Georgians living in Georgia as well as the official language of the country. Georgian, Mingrelian and Svan, together with Laz spoken by the related Laz people form the Kartvelian language family.

Located in Caucasus at the edge of Europe, the Georgian people have fought to protect their Christian identity in the face of immense pressure from the neighboring Muslim empires. By the early 11th century they formed a unified kingdom which emerged as a dominant regional power until it was weakened by internal divisions following the death of George V the Brilliant, the last of the great kings of Georgia. To ensure its survival as a Christian kingdom, the country was soon forced to forge an alliance with the Russian Empire, which was viewed as a replacement for the fallen Eastern Roman Empire, Georgia's traditional ally. Eventually being annexed by Russia in 1801, Georgians briefly regained national independence from 1918 to 1921, and finally, in 1991 from the Soviet Union.

Etymology[link]

Georgians call themselves Kartvelebi (ქართველები), their land Sakartvelo (საქართველო), and their language Kartuli (ქართული). According to The Georgian Chronicles, the ancestor of the Kartvelian people was Kartlos, the great grandson of the Biblical Japheth. Ancient Greeks (Strabo, Herodotus, Plutarch, Homer, etc.) and Romans (Titus Livius, Cornelius Tacitus, etc.) referred to early eastern Georgians as Iberians (Iberoi in some Greek sources) and western Georgians as Colchians.^[10]

Origins[link]

Most historians and scholars of Georgia as well as anthropologists, archaeologists and linguists tend to agree that the ancestors of modern Georgians inhabited the southern Caucasus and northern Anatolia since the Neolithic period.^[11] Scholars usually refer to them as Proto-Kartvelian (Proto-Georgians such as Colchians and Iberians) tribes.^[12] Some European historians of the 19th century (for example, Wilhelm von Humboldt and Paul Kretschmer) as well as Georgian scholars (R. Gordeziani, S. Kaukhchishvili and Z. Gamsakhurdia) came to the conclusion that Proto-Kartvelians might be related linguistically and culturally to the indigenous (pre-Indo-European) peoples of ancient Europe including the Etruscans, Pelasgians and Proto-Basques.

The Georgian people in antiquity have been known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as Colchians and Iberians.^[13][14] East Georgian tribes of Tibarenians-Iberians formed their kingdom in 7th century BCE. However, western Georgian tribes (Moschians, Suanians, Mingrelians and others) established the first Georgian state of Colchis before the foundation of the Iberian Kingdom in the east.^[15] According to the numerous scholars of Georgia, the formations of these two early Georgian kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia, resulted in the consolidation and uniformity of the Georgian nation.^[16]

Proto-Georgian tribes:

• The ancient Jewish chronicle by Josephus mentions Georgians as Iberes who were also called Thobel (Tubal).^[17]

• Diauehi in Assyrian sources and Taochi in Greek, lived in the northeastern part of Anatolia, a region that was part of Georgia. This ancient tribe is considered by many scholars as ancestors of Georgians. The Georgians of today still refer to this region, which now belongs to present-day Turkey, as Tao-Klarjeti, ancient Georgian Kingdom. Some people there still speak Georgian.^[18]

• Colchians in the ancient western Georgian Kingdom of Colchis. First mentioned in the Assyrian annals of Tiglath-Pileser I and in the annals of Urartian king Sarduri II. Also included western Georgian tribe of the Meskhetians.^[15][19]

• Iberians also known as Tiberians or Tiberanians, in the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Iberia.^[15]

Both Colchians and Iberians played an important role in the ethnic and cultural formation of the modern Georgian nation.^[20][21]

According to the scholar of the Caucasian studies Cyril Toumanoff:

Appearance[link]

Alpine type of Georgian, Svan. Mestia (1888 -1900)

Georgians are classified as Caucasoids (Europoid or Europid),^[23] and often have brown hair and brown eyes.^[24] Georgians who have historically lived in alpine areas of less sunny western Georgia — especially Mingrelians and Svans- tend to have lighter features, with higher frequency of blond hair and light blue or green eyes.

Studies of human genetics suggest that Georgian Y-DNA typically belongs to Haplogroup J2, also found in Greece and Italy, as well as Haplogroup G.^[25]

Culture[link]

Language and linguistic subdivisions[link]

Georgian is the primary language for Georgians of all provenance, including those who speak other Kartvelian languages: Mingrelians, Svans, and the Laz. The language known today as Georgian is a traditional language of the eastern part of the country which has spread to most of the present-day Georgia after the post-Christianization centralization in the first millennium AD — today Georgians regardless of their ancestral region use Georgian as their official language. The regional languages — Mingrelian and Svan — are languages of the west that were traditionally spoken in the pre-Christian Kingdom of Colchis, but later lost importance as the unified Georgian Kingdom emerged. Their decline is largely due to the capital of the unified kingdom, Tbilisi, being in the eastern part of the country — known as Iberia — effectively making the language of the east an official language of the Georgian monarch.

All of these languages comprise the Kartvelian language family along with the related language of the Laz people, which has speakers in both Turkey and Georgia.

Dialects of Georgian include Imeretian, Racha-Lechkhumian, Gurian, Adjarian, Imerkhevian (in Turkey), Kartlian, Kakhetian, Ingilo (in Azerbaijan), Tush, Khevsur, Mokhevian, Pshavian, Fereydan dialect in Iran in Fereydunshahr and Fereydan, Mtiuletian, Meskhetian.

Religion[link]

Georgian Statehood

Kingdom of Iberia Kingdom of Colchis Kingdom of Diauehi Kingdom of Lazica Unified Georgian Kingdom Partitions Kingdom of Kartli Kingdom of Abkhazia Kingdom of Hereti Kingdom of Kakheti Kingdom of Imereti Kingdom of Kartli and Kakheti Kingdom of Tao-Klarjeti Georgian Principalities Principality of Svaneti Principality of Meskheti Principality of Abkhazia Principality of Guria Principality of Samegrelo Democratic Republic of Georgia Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic Republic of Georgia Georgia

Wall Painting in Georgia's ancient Monastery, Shio-Mghvime

Christianity, first preached by the Apostles Simon and Andrew in the 1st century, became the state religion of the Eastern Georgian Kingdom of Iberia in 327, although most of the Georgian population was already Christian.^{[26][27][28][29]} The final conversion of Georgia to Christianity in 327 is credited to a Roman woman St. Nino of Cappadocia, a relative of the great martyr St. George, and Susanna, sister of the Patriarch of Jerusalem.^[30] The Georgians' new faith, which replaced pagan beliefs, allied them permanently with the Eastern Roman Empire, while placing them on the front line of conflict between the Christian and Islamic worlds. As was true elsewhere, the Christian church in Georgia was crucial to the development of a written language, and most of the earliest written works were religious texts.Medieval Georgian culture was greatly influenced by Eastern Orthodoxy and the Georgian Orthodox Church, which promoted and often sponsored the creation of many works of religious devotion. These included churches and monasteries, works of art such as icons, and hagiographies of Georgian saints. In addition, many secular works of national history, mythology and hagiography were also written. Today, 83.9% of the Georgian population, most of whom are ethnic Georgian, practices Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

Cuisine[link]

The Georgian cuisine is specific to the country, but also contains some influences from other European culinary traditions, as well as those from the surrounding Western Asia. Each historical province of Georgia has its own distinct culinary tradition, such as Megrelian, Kakhetian, and Imeretian cuisines. In addition to various meat dishes, Georgian cuisine also offers a variety of vegetarian meals.

The importance of both food and drink to Georgian culture is best observed during a Caucasian feast, or supra, when a huge assortment of dishes is prepared, always accompanied by large amounts of wine, and dinner can last for hours. In a Georgian feast, the role of the tamada (toastmaster) is an important and honoured position.

In countries of the former Soviet Union, Georgian food is popular due to the immigration of Georgians to other Soviet republics, in particular Russia. In Russia all major cities have many Georgian restaurants and Russian restaurants often feature Georgian food items on their menu.^[31]

Geographic subdivisions and subethnic groups[link]

Geographical subdivisions[link]

Georgian youth in traditional costumes

The Georgians have historically been classified into various subgroups based on the geographic region which their ancestors traditionally inhabited.

Even if a member of any of these subgroups moves to a different region, they will still be known by the name of their ancestral region. For example, if a Gurian moves to Tbilisi (part of the Kartli region) he will not automatically identify himself as Kartlian despite actually living in Kartli. This may, however, change if substantial amount of time passes. For example, there are some Mingrelians who have lived in the Imereti region for centuries and are now identified as Imeretian or Imeretian-Mingrelians.

Last names from mountainous eastern Georgian provinces (such as Kakheti, etc.) can be distinguished by the suffix –uri (ური), or –uli (ული). Most Svan last names typically end in –ani (ანი), Mingrelian in –ia (ია), -ua (უა), or -ava (ავა), and Laz in –shi (ში).

The 1897 Russian census (which accounted people by language), had Imeretian, Mingrelian and Svan languages separate from Georgian.^[32] During the 1926 Soviet census, Mengrelians and Svans were accounted separately from Georgian.^[33] Mingrelian and Svan languages are both Kartvelian languages and are closely related to the national Georgian.

Outside of modern Georgia[link]

Laz people also may be considered Georgian based on their geographic location and religion. According to the London School of Economics' anthropologist Mathijs Pelkmans,^[34] Lazs residing in Georgia frequently identify themselves as "first-class Georgians" to show pride, while considering their Muslim counterparts in Turkey as "Turkified Lazs".^[35]

Subethnic groups	Name in Georgian	Settlement area	Language (other than Georgian)	Approximate number	Difference(s) from mainstream Georgians (other than location)
Shavshians	შავში shavshi	Shavsheti	Imerkhevian dialect ?
Klarjians	კლარჯი klarji	Klarjeti	Imerkhevian dialect ?
Lazs	ლაზი lazi	Chaneti (Lazistan)	Laz language	50,000 (1970 est.)[36]	Religion: Muslim
Chveneburi	ჩვენებური chveneburi	Black Sea coast, Northwestern Turkey		60,000 (1979)[37]	Religion: Muslim
Ingilo	ინგილო ingilo	Saingilo	Ingiloan dialect	12,000	Religion: Muslim[citation needed]
Pereidneli (Fereydan Georgian)	ფერეიდნელი pereidneli	Pereidani	Fereidanian dialect

Linguistic subdivisions[link]

The language known today as Georgian is a traditional language of the eastern part of the country which has spread to most of the present-day Georgia after the post-Christianization centralization in the first millennium AD — today Georgians regardless of their ancestral region use Georgian as their official language. The regional languages — Mingrelian and Svan — are languages of the west that were traditionally spoken in the pre-Christian Kingdom of Colchis, but later lost importance as the unified Georgian Kingdom emerged. Their decline is largely due to the capital of the unified kingdom, Tbilisi, being in the eastern part of the country — known as Iberia — effectively making the language of the east an official language of the Georgian monarch.

All of these languages comprise the Kartvelian language family along with the related language of the Laz people, which has speakers in both Turkey and Georgia.

Notes[link]

See also[link]

• Georgia
• Culture of Georgia
• Georgian language
• Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church
• History of Georgia
• Demographics of Georgia
• European American
• Georgian American
• List of Georgians
• Peoples of the Caucasus
• Chveneburi — Georgians in Turkey
• Georgians in Iran

John McCain
United States Senator from Arizona
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1987 Serving with Jon Kyl
Preceded by	Barry Goldwater
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 1st district
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by	John Jacob Rhodes Jr.
Succeeded by	John Jacob Rhodes III
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by	Daniel Inouye
Succeeded by	Ben Nighthorse Campbell
In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Succeeded by	Byron Dorgan
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Larry Pressler
Succeeded by	Ernest Hollings
In office January 20, 2001 – June 3, 2001
Preceded by	Ernest Hollings
Succeeded by	Ernest Hollings
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Ernest Hollings
Succeeded by	Ted Stevens
Personal details
Born	John Sidney McCain III (1936-08-29) August 29, 1936 (age 75) Coco Solo Naval Air Station, Panama Canal Zone
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Carol Shepp (m. 1965, div. 1980) Cindy Lou Hensley (m. 1980 - present)
Relations	John S. McCain, Jr. (father, deceased) Roberta McCain (mother)
Children	Douglas (b. 1959, adopted 1966) Andrew (b. 1962, adopted 1966) Sidney (b. 1966) Meghan (b. 1984) John Sidney IV "Jack" (b. 1986) James "Jimmy" (b. 1988) Bridget (b. 1991, adopted 1993)
Residence	Phoenix, Arizona
Alma mater	U.S. Naval Academy (B.S.)
Profession	Naval Aviator, politician
Religion	Baptist congregant (Brought up Episcopalian)[1]
Signature
Website	www.mccain.senate.gov
Military service
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1958–1981
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
This article is part of a series about The life of John McCain Early life and military career House and Senate career, until 2000 2000 presidential campaign Senate career, 2001–present 2008 presidential campaign Cultural and political image Political positions

In 1951 at left, with mother Roberta, brother Joe, and father John S. McCain, Jr.
In 1951 at left, with mother Roberta, brother Joe, and father John S. McCain, Jr.		In 1954 at the Naval Academy

John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936) is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican presidential nominee in the 2008 United States election.

McCain followed his father and grandfather, both four-star admirals, into the United States Navy, graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958. He became a naval aviator, flying ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. During the Vietnam War, he was almost killed in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. In October 1967, while on a bombing mission over Hanoi, he was shot down, seriously injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. He was a prisoner of war until 1973. McCain experienced episodes of torture, and refused an out-of-sequence early repatriation offer. His war wounds left him with lifelong physical limitations.

He retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981 and moved to Arizona, where he entered politics. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, he served two terms, and was then elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, winning re-election easily four times, most recently in 2010. While generally adhering to conservative principles, McCain at times has had a media reputation as a "maverick" for his willingness to disagree with his party on certain issues. After being investigated and largely exonerated in a political influence scandal of the 1980s as a member of the Keating Five, he made campaign finance reform one of his signature concerns, which eventually led to the passage of the McCain-Feingold Act in 2002. He is also known for his work towards restoring diplomatic relations with Vietnam in the 1990s, and for his belief that the war in Iraq should be fought to a successful conclusion. McCain has chaired the Senate Commerce Committee, opposed spending that he considered to be pork barrel, and played a key role in alleviating a crisis over judicial nominations.

McCain ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000 but lost a heated primary season contest to George W. Bush. He secured the nomination in 2008 after coming back from early reversals, but lost to Democratic candidate Barack Obama in the general election. He subsequently adopted more orthodox conservative stances and attitudes and largely opposed actions of the Obama administration.

Early life and military career, 1936–1981[link]

Formative years and education[link]

John McCain was born on August 29, 1936, at Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone, to naval officer John S. McCain, Jr. (1911–1981) and Roberta (Wright) McCain (b. 1912).^[2] At that time, the Panama Canal was under U.S. control.^[3]

McCain's family tree includes Scots-Irish and English ancestors.^[4] His father and his paternal grandfather, John S. McCain, Sr., both became four-star United States Navy admirals.^[5] His family, including his older sister Sandy and younger brother Joe,^[2] followed his father to various naval postings in the United States and the Pacific.^[6] Altogether, he attended about 20 schools.^[7]

In 1951, the family settled in Northern Virginia, and McCain attended Episcopal High School, a private preparatory boarding school in Alexandria.^[8] He excelled at wrestling and graduated in 1954.^[9]

Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, McCain entered the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. There, he was a friend and informal leader for many of his classmates,^[10] and sometimes stood up for targets of bullying.^[5] He also became a lightweight boxer.^[11] McCain came into conflict with higher-ranking personnel, and he did not always obey the rules, which contributed to a low class rank (894 of 899), despite a high IQ.^[10][12] He did well in academic subjects that interested him, such as literature and history, but studied only enough to pass subjects he struggled with, such as mathematics.^[5][13] McCain graduated in 1958.^[10]

Naval training, first marriage, and Vietnam assignment[link]

John McCain's early military career began when he was commissioned an ensign and started two and a half years of training at Pensacola to become a naval aviator.^[14] While there, he earned a reputation as a partying man.^[7] He completed flight school in 1960, and became a naval pilot of ground-attack aircraft, assigned to A-1 Skyraider squadrons^[15] aboard the aircraft carriers USS Intrepid and USS Enterprise^[16] in the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas.^[17] McCain began as a sub-par flier^[17] who was at times careless and reckless;^[18] during the early-to-mid 1960s, the planes he was flying crashed twice and once collided with power lines, but he received no major injuries.^[18] His aviation skills improved over time,^[17] and he was seen as a good pilot, albeit one who tended to "push the envelope" in his flying.^[18]

On July 3, 1965, McCain married Carol Shepp, a model originally from Philadelphia.^[19] McCain adopted her two young children Douglas and Andrew.^[16][20] He and Carol then had a daughter named Sidney.^[21][22]

McCain requested a combat assignment,^[23] and was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal flying A-4 Skyhawks.^[24] His combat duty began when he was 30 years old, in mid-1967, when Forrestal was assigned to a bombing campaign, Operation Rolling Thunder, during the Vietnam War.^[19][25] McCain and his fellow pilots became frustrated by micromanagement from Washington, and he would later write that "In all candor, we thought our civilian commanders were complete idiots who didn't have the least notion of what it took to win the war."^[25][26]

On July 29, 1967, McCain, by then a lieutenant commander, was near the center of the Forrestal fire. He escaped from his burning jet and was trying to help another pilot escape when a bomb exploded;^[27] McCain was struck in the legs and chest by fragments.^[28] The ensuing fire killed 134 sailors and took 24 hours to control.^[29][30] With the Forrestal out of commission, McCain volunteered for assignment with the USS Oriskany, another aircraft carrier employed in Operation Rolling Thunder.^[31] Once there, he would be awarded the Navy Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star for missions flown over North Vietnam.^[32]

Prisoner of war[link]

John McCain's capture and subsequent imprisonment began on October 26, 1967. He was flying his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam when his A-4E Skyhawk was shot down by a missile over Hanoi.^[33][34] McCain fractured both arms and a leg ejecting from the aircraft,^[35] and nearly drowned when he parachuted into Truc Bach Lake.^[33] Some North Vietnamese pulled him ashore, then others crushed his shoulder with a rifle butt and bayoneted him.^[33] McCain was then transported to Hanoi's main Hoa Lo Prison, nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton".^[34]

Although McCain was badly wounded, his captors refused to treat his injuries, beating and interrogating him to get information; he was given medical care only when the North Vietnamese discovered that his father was a top admiral.^[36] His status as a prisoner of war (POW) made the front pages of major newspapers.^[37][38]

McCain spent six weeks in the hospital while receiving marginal care.^[33] By then having lost 50 pounds (23 kg), in a chest cast, and with his hair turned white,^[33] McCain was sent to a different camp on the outskirts of Hanoi^[39] in December 1967, into a cell with two other Americans who did not expect him to live a week.^[40] In March 1968, McCain was put into solitary confinement, where he would remain for two years.^[41]

In mid-1968, John S. McCain, Jr. was named commander of all U.S. forces in the Vietnam theater, and the North Vietnamese offered McCain early release^[43] because they wanted to appear merciful for propaganda purposes,^[44] and also to show other POWs that elite prisoners were willing to be treated preferentially.^[43] McCain turned down the offer; he would only accept repatriation if every man taken in before him was released as well. Such early release was prohibited by the POW's interpretation of the military Code of Conduct: To prevent the enemy from using prisoners for propaganda, officers were to agree to be released in the order in which they were captured.^[33]

In August 1968, a program of severe torture began on McCain.^[45] He was subjected to rope bindings and repeated beatings every two hours, at the same time as he was suffering from dysentery.^[33][45] Further injuries led to the beginning of a suicide attempt, stopped by guards.^[33] Eventually, McCain made an anti-American propaganda "confession".^[33] He has always felt that his statement was dishonorable, but as he later wrote, "I had learned what we all learned over there: Every man has his breaking point. I had reached mine."^[46][47] Many American POWs were tortured and maltreated in order to extract "confessions" and propaganda statements;^[48] virtually all of them eventually yielded something to their captors.^[49] McCain subsequently received two to three beatings weekly because of his continued refusal to sign additional statements.^[50]

McCain refused to meet with various anti-war groups seeking peace in Hanoi, wanting to give neither them nor the North Vietnamese a propaganda victory.^[51] From late 1969 onward, treatment of McCain and many of the other POWs became more tolerable,^[52] while McCain continued actively to resist the camp authorities.^[53] McCain and other prisoners cheered the U.S. "Christmas Bombing" campaign of December 1972, viewing it as a forceful measure to push North Vietnam to terms.^[47][54]

Altogether, McCain was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for five and a half years. He was released on March 14, 1973.^[55] His wartime injuries left him permanently incapable of raising his arms above his head.^[56]

Commanding officer, liaison to Senate, and second marriage[link]

McCain giving an interview to the press on April 24, 1973, after his return from Vietnam. Photo by US News and World Report.

McCain's return to the United States reunited him with his family. His wife Carol had suffered her own crippling ordeal due to an automobile accident in December 1969.^[57] McCain became a celebrity of sorts, as a returned POW.^[57]

McCain underwent treatment for his injuries, including months of grueling physical therapy,^[58] and attended the National War College at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. during 1973–1974.^[59] Having been rehabilitated, by late 1974, McCain had his flight status reinstated, and in 1976 he became commanding officer of a training squadron stationed in Florida.^[57][60] He improved the unit's flight readiness and safety records,^[61] and won the squadron its first-ever Meritorious Unit Commendation.^[60] During this period in Florida, McCain had extramarital affairs, and the McCains' marriage began to falter, for which he later would accept blame.^[62][63]

McCain served as the Navy's liaison to the U.S. Senate beginning in 1977.^[64] In retrospect, he has said that this represented his "real entry into the world of politics and the beginning of my second career as a public servant."^[57] His key behind-the-scenes role gained congressional financing for a new supercarrier against the wishes of the Carter administration.^[58][65]

In April 1979,^[58] McCain met Cindy Lou Hensley, a teacher from Phoenix, Arizona, whose father had founded a large beer distributorship.^[63] They began dating, and he urged his wife Carol to grant him a divorce, which she did in February 1980, with the uncontested divorce taking effect in April 1980.^[20][58] The settlement included two houses, and financial support for her ongoing medical treatments due to her 1969 car accident; they would remain on good terms.^[63] McCain and Hensley were married on May 17, 1980, with Senators William Cohen and Gary Hart attending as groomsmen.^[19][63] McCain's children did not attend, and several years would pass before they reconciled.^[22][58] John and Cindy McCain entered into a prenuptial agreement that kept most of her family's assets under her name; they would always keep their finances apart and file separate income tax returns.^[66]

McCain decided to leave the Navy. It was doubtful whether he would ever be promoted to the rank of full admiral, as he had poor annual physicals and had been given no major sea command.^[67] His chances of being promoted to rear admiral were better, but McCain declined that prospect, as he had already made plans to run for Congress and said he could "do more good there."^[68][69] McCain retired from the Navy on April 1, 1981^[70] as a captain.^[32] He was designated as disabled and awarded a disability pension.^[71] Upon leaving the military, he moved to Arizona. His 17 military awards and decorations include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star and Navy Commendation Medal, for actions before, during, and after his time as a POW.^[32]

House and Senate elections and career, 1982–2000[link]

U.S. Congressman[link]

McCain set his sights on becoming a Congressman because he was interested in current events, was ready for a new challenge, and had developed political ambitions during his time as Senate liaison.^[63][72][73] Living in Phoenix, he went to work for Hensley & Co., his new father-in-law Jim Hensley's large Anheuser-Busch beer distributorship.^[63] As Vice President of Public Relations at the distributorship, he gained political support among the local business community, meeting powerful figures such as banker Charles Keating, Jr., real estate developer Fife Symington III and newspaper publisher Darrow "Duke" Tully.^[64][74] In 1982, McCain ran as a Republican for an open seat in Arizona's 1st congressional district.^[75] A newcomer to the state, McCain was hit with charges of being a carpetbagger.^[63] McCain responded to a voter making that charge with what a Phoenix Gazette columnist would later describe as "the most devastating response to a potentially troublesome political issue I've ever heard":^[63]

Listen, pal. I spent 22 years in the Navy. My father was in the Navy. My grandfather was in the Navy. We in the military service tend to move a lot. We have to live in all parts of the country, all parts of the world. I wish I could have had the luxury, like you, of growing up and living and spending my entire life in a nice place like the First District of Arizona, but I was doing other things. As a matter of fact, when I think about it now, the place I lived longest in my life was Hanoi.^[63][76]

With the assistance of local political endorsements, his Washington connections, as well as money that his wife lent to his campaign,^[64] McCain won a highly contested primary election.^[63] He then easily won the general election in the heavily Republican district.^[63]

In 1983, McCain was elected to lead the incoming group of Republican representatives,^[63] and was assigned to the House Committee on Interior Affairs. Also that year, he opposed creation of a federal Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but admitted in 2008: "I was wrong and eventually realized that, in time to give full support [in 1990] for a state holiday in Arizona."^[77][78]

McCain's politics at this point were mainly in line with President Ronald Reagan, including support for Reaganomics, and he was active on Indian Affairs bills.^[79] He supported most aspects of the foreign policy of the Reagan administration, including its hardline stance against the Soviet Union and policy towards Central American conflicts, such as backing the Contras in Nicaragua.^[79] McCain opposed keeping U.S. Marines deployed in Lebanon citing unattainable objectives, and subsequently criticized President Reagan for pulling out the troops too late; in the interim, the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing killed hundreds.^[63][80] McCain won re-election to the House easily in 1984,^[63] and gained a spot on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.^[81] In 1985, he made his first return trip to Vietnam,^[82] and also traveled to Chile where he met with its military junta ruler, General Augusto Pinochet.^[83][84][85]

Growing family[link]

In 1984, McCain and Cindy had their first child together, daughter Meghan, followed two years later by son John Sidney (Jack) IV, and in 1988 by son James (Jimmy).^[86] In 1991, Cindy McCain brought an abandoned three-month old girl needing medical treatment to the U.S. from a Bangladeshi orphanage run by Mother Teresa.^[87] The McCains decided to adopt her and named her Bridget.^[88]

First two terms in U.S. Senate[link]

McCain's Senate career began in January 1987, after he defeated his Democratic opponent, former state legislator Richard Kimball, by 20 percentage points in the 1986 election.^[64][89] McCain succeeded longtime American conservative icon and Arizona fixture Barry Goldwater upon the latter's retirement as United States Senator from Arizona.^[89]

McCain meeting President Ronald Reagan with First Lady Nancy Reagan at left, March 1987

Senator McCain became a member of the Armed Services Committee, with which he had formerly done his Navy liaison work; he also joined the Commerce Committee and the Indian Affairs Committee.^[89] McCain continued to support the Native American agenda.^[90] As first a House member and then a senator – and as a life-long gambler with close ties to the gambling industry^[91] – McCain was one of the main authors of the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act,^[92][93] which codified rules regarding Native American gambling enterprises.^[94] McCain was also a strong supporter of the Gramm-Rudman legislation that enforced automatic spending cuts in the case of budget deficits.^[95]

McCain soon gained national visibility. He delivered a well-received speech at the 1988 Republican National Convention, was mentioned by the press as a short list vice-presidential running mate for Republican nominee George H. W. Bush, and was named chairman of Veterans for Bush.^[89][96]

McCain became enmeshed in a scandal during the 1980s as one of five United States Senators comprising the so-called Keating Five.^[97] Between 1982 and 1987, McCain had received $112,000 in lawful^[98] political contributions from Charles Keating Jr. and his associates at Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, along with trips on Keating's jets^[97] that McCain belatedly repaid in 1989.^[99] In 1987, McCain was one of the five senators whom Keating contacted in order to prevent the government's seizure of Lincoln, and McCain met twice with federal regulators to discuss the government's investigation of Lincoln.^[97] In 1999, McCain said: "The appearance of it was wrong. It's a wrong appearance when a group of senators appear in a meeting with a group of regulators, because it conveys the impression of undue and improper influence. And it was the wrong thing to do."^[100] In the end, McCain was cleared by the Senate Ethics Committee of acting improperly or violating any law or Senate rule, but was mildly rebuked for exercising "poor judgment".^[98][100] In his 1992 re-election bid, the Keating Five affair was not a major issue,^[101] and he won handily, gaining 56 percent of the vote to defeat Democratic community and civil rights activist Claire Sargent and independent former Governor Evan Mecham.^[102]

The 1992 christening of USS John S. McCain at Bath Iron Works, with his mother Roberta, son Jack, daughter Meghan, and wife Cindy

McCain developed a reputation for independence during the 1990s.^[103] He took pride in challenging party leadership and establishment forces, becoming difficult to categorize politically.^[103]

As a member of the 1991–1993 Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, chaired by Democrat and fellow Vietnam War veteran John Kerry, McCain investigated the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue, to determine the fate of U.S. service personnel listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War.^[104] The committee's unanimous report stated there was "no compelling evidence that proves that any American remains alive in captivity in Southeast Asia."^[105] Helped by McCain's efforts, in 1995 the U.S. normalized diplomatic relations with Vietnam.^[106] McCain was vilified by some POW/MIA activists who, unlike the Arizona senator, believed large numbers of Americans were still held against their will in Southeast Asia.^{[106][107][108]} Since January 1993, McCain has been Chairman of the International Republican Institute, an organization partly funded by the U.S. Government that supports the emergence of political democracy worldwide.^[109]

In 1993 and 1994, McCain voted to confirm President Clinton's nominees Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg whom he considered to be qualified for the U.S. Supreme Court. He would later explain that "under our Constitution, it is the president's call to make."^[110] McCain had also voted to confirm nominees of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, including Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.^[111]

McCain attacked what he saw as the corrupting influence of large political contributions – from corporations, labor unions, other organizations, and wealthy individuals – and he made this his signature issue.^[112] Starting in 1994, he worked with Democratic Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold on campaign finance reform; their McCain-Feingold bill attempted to put limits on "soft money".^[112] The efforts of McCain and Feingold were opposed by some of the moneyed interests targeted, by incumbents in both parties, by those who felt spending limits impinged on free political speech and might be unconstitutional as well, and by those who wanted to counterbalance the power of what they saw as media bias.^[112][113] Despite sympathetic coverage in the media, initial versions of the McCain-Feingold Act were filibustered and never came to a vote.^[114]

The term "maverick Republican" became a label frequently applied to McCain, and he has also used it himself.^{[112][115][116]} In 1993, McCain opposed military operations in Somalia.^[117] Another target of his was pork barrel spending by Congress, and he actively supported the Line Item Veto Act of 1996, which gave the president power to veto individual spending items^[112] but was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1998.^[118]

In the 1996 presidential election, McCain was again on the short list of possible vice-presidential picks, this time for Republican nominee Bob Dole.^[101][119] The following year, Time magazine named McCain as one of the "25 Most Influential People in America".^[120]

In 1997, McCain became chairman of the powerful Senate Commerce Committee; he was criticized for accepting funds from corporations and businesses under the committee's purview, but in response said the small contributions he received were not part of the big-money nature of the campaign finance problem.^[112] McCain took on the tobacco industry in 1998, proposing legislation that would increase cigarette taxes in order to fund anti-smoking campaigns, discourage teenage smokers, increase money for health research studies, and help states pay for smoking-related health care costs.^[112][121] Supported by the Clinton administration but opposed by the industry and most Republicans, the bill failed to gain cloture.^[121]

Start of third term in the U.S. Senate[link]

McCain won re-election to a third senate term in November 1998, prevailing in a landslide over his Democratic opponent, environmental lawyer Ed Ranger.^[112] In the February 1999 Senate trial following the impeachment of Bill Clinton, McCain voted to convict the president on both the perjury and obstruction of justice counts, saying Clinton had violated his sworn oath of office.^[122] In March 1999, McCain voted to approve the NATO bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, saying that the ongoing genocide of the Kosovo War must be stopped and criticizing past Clinton administration inaction.^[123] Later in 1999, McCain shared the Profile in Courage Award with Feingold for their work in trying to enact their campaign finance reform,^[124] although the bill was still failing repeated attempts to gain cloture.^[114]

In August 1999, McCain's memoir Faith of My Fathers, co-authored with Mark Salter, was published;^[125] a reviewer observed that its appearance "seems to have been timed to the unfolding Presidential campaign."^[126] The most successful of his writings, it received positive reviews,^[127] became a bestseller,^[128] and was later made into a TV film. The book traces McCain's family background and childhood, covers his time at Annapolis and his service before and during the Vietnam War, concluding with his release from captivity in 1973. According to one reviewer, it describes "the kind of challenges that most of us can barely imagine. It's a fascinating history of a remarkable military family."^[129]

2000 presidential campaign[link]

McCain announced his candidacy for president on September 27, 1999 in Nashua, New Hampshire, saying he was staging "a fight to take our government back from the power brokers and special interests, and return it to the people and the noble cause of freedom it was created to serve".^[125][130] The leader for the Republican nomination was Texas Governor George W. Bush, who had the political and financial support of most of the party establishment.^[131]

McCain focused on the New Hampshire primary, where his message appealed to independents.^[132] He traveled on a campaign bus called the Straight Talk Express.^[125] He held many town hall meetings, answering every question voters asked, in a successful example of "retail politics", and he used free media to compensate for his lack of funds.^[125] One reporter later recounted that, "McCain talked all day long with reporters on his Straight Talk Express bus; he talked so much that sometimes he said things that he shouldn't have, and that's why the media loved him."^[133] On February 1, 2000, he won New Hampshire's primary with 49 percent of the vote to Bush's 30 percent. The Bush campaign and the Republican establishment feared that a McCain victory in the crucial South Carolina primary might give his campaign unstoppable momentum.^[125][134]

The Arizona Republic would write that the McCain–Bush primary contest in South Carolina "has entered national political lore as a low-water mark in presidential campaigns", while The New York Times called it "a painful symbol of the brutality of American politics".^{[125][135][136]} A variety of interest groups that McCain had challenged in the past ran negative ads.^[125][137] Bush borrowed McCain's earlier language of reform,^[138] and declined to dissociate himself from a veterans activist who accused McCain (in Bush's presence) of having "abandoned the veterans" on POW/MIA and Agent Orange issues.^[125][139]

Incensed,^[139] McCain ran ads accusing Bush of lying and comparing the governor to Bill Clinton, which Bush said was "about as low a blow as you can give in a Republican primary".^[125] An anonymous smear campaign began against McCain, delivered by push polls, faxes, e-mails, flyers, and audience plants.^[125][141] The smears claimed that McCain had fathered a black child out of wedlock (the McCains' dark-skinned daughter was adopted from Bangladesh), that his wife Cindy was a drug addict, that he was a homosexual, and that he was a "Manchurian Candidate" who was either a traitor or mentally unstable from his North Vietnam POW days.^[125][135] The Bush campaign strongly denied any involvement with the attacks.^[135]