Basic Information
Name: John Sidney McCain III
Nicknames: Straight Talk, the Maverick
Born: August 29th, 1936
Nationality: American
Hometown: Born in the Panama Canal Zone, Currently Resides in Sedona, Arizona
WORK & EDUCATION
Occupation: Navy Pilot, U.S. Senator
Education: United States Naval Academy
FAMILY & FRIENDS
Parents: John Sidney McCain Jr., Roberta McCain
Siblings: Sandy Morgan, Joe McCain
Spouse: Cindy Hensley McCain
Children: Sidney, John, Meghan, James, Bridget, Andrew, Douglas
Friends: Lindsey Graham, Joe Lieberman, Steve Schmidt, Mitch McConnell Chuck Schumer
Foes: George W. Bush, Barack Obama
Analysis
Maverick
In 2000, John McCain ran against George W. Bush for the Republican nomination. He gained a reputation for being a "maverick" who spoke his mind (even if his opinion sometimes deviated from the party line) on the campaign trail in an unpolished, honest way. Sort of like how Maverick from Top Gun spoke his mind through karaoke.
Also, McCain was/is a straight-up war hero. During the Vietnam War, he was shot down while flying his Navy plane and endured torture in a POW prison. If anyone had courage in difficult situations, it was this veteran.
But after a pretty ugly campaign, he still lost the Republican primary to Bush, who was the son of a former president and the handpicked presidential choice of Republican Party leaders. Lacking funding and support from his colleagues, McCain didn't have much of a shot. Still, he made a name for himself on the national stage, becoming known as a moderate Republican.
Right Guy, Wrong Time
Fast-forward eight years.
By the time 2008 rolled around, McCain was the Republicans' favorite choice to challenge the Democrats. There was only one problem: 2008 was a low point for Republicans in general. The economy was in the tank, America was fighting an unpopular war, and George Bush wasn't exactly Mr. Popularity. In speeches on the campaign trail, Obama compared McCain to Bush, saying a McCain presidency would be "four more years of the last eight years." Which people were not super psyched to sign up for.
McCain also didn't have Obama's knack for—how do we put this delicately?—inspiring people. One of his advisors called the economic recession "mental" and suggested America was becoming "a nation of whiners." People who can't afford gas and lose their houses to foreclosure generally don't like to hear this sort of thing. Not a great look for an older candidate already struggling not to seem out of touch with middle-class voters.
Fair or unfair, Americans voters tend to blame the current president when the economy is bad (source). So here's a Shmoop divination trick for you: if there's a Democrat in the White House during a recession, there's a pretty good chance the next president will be, you guessed it, a Republican.
Given the state of the economy in 2008, you could say Bush kind of sank McCain's presidential hopes a second time. Guilty by association?