44. JOHN SIDNEY McCAIN III
Birth date: Aug. 29, 1936
Birthplace: Panama Canal Zone
Religion: Episcopal, but has attended a Baptist church for the past 10 years
Marriage: Carol Shepp, 1965-1980; Cindy Lou Hensley, 1980-present
Military service: Served as a Navy pilot and captain , 1958-1981; shot down in 1967 and held as a prisoner of war for more than five years in Hanoi
Education: Graduated from the National War College, 1974, the U.S. Naval Academy, 1958
Party: Republican
Vice presidential candidate: Sarah Heath Palin
Highlights before candidacy:
Council on Foreign Relations, Pacific Council on International Policy, Navy League, The Military Order of the World Wars, Purple Heart Association, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans Association. He served as U.S. representative from Arizona, 1983-1987, U.S. senator from Arizona, 1987-present; ran unsuccessfully as a Republican presidential candidate in 2000.
Did you know?
His nicknames include “Punk” and “McNasty” (in high school), “John Wayne McCain” (at the Naval Academy), “The Crown Prince” (by his North Vietnamese captors), “The White Tornado” (by some fellow congressmen). His father and grandfather were four-star Navy admirals. McCain, an A-4 Skyhawk pilot, was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal off the coast of Vietnam. On July 29, 1967, he was preparing to take off on a bombing mission over North Vietnam when a missile accidentally fired from a nearby plane struck the fuel tanks on McCain’s plane. In the ensuing explosions and fire, McCain escaped from his plane by crawling onto its nose and diving into the fire on the ship’s deck. He turned to help a fellow pilot whose flight suit had burst into flames, but before McCain could reach him, more bombs exploded. It was the worst non-combat-related accident in American naval history. McCain was awarded the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He is the author or co-author of five books, including “Faith of My Fathers” and “Hard Call: Great Decisions and the Extraordinary People Who Made Them.”
SOURCES: britannica.com, aproundtable.org, whoserved.com, friendsofmccain.com, experienceproject.com, washingtonpost.com
44. BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA
Birth date: Aug. 4, 1961
Birthplace: Honolulu
Religion: United Church of Christ
Marriage: Michelle Robinson
Military service: None
Education: Columbia University, BA, 1983, magna cum laude Harvard Law School, JD, 1991
Party: Democrat
Vice presidential candidate: Sen. Joe Biden
Highlights before candidacy:
Obama was a community activist from 1991 to 1996 on Chicago’s South Side for a church-based group. He is a past or current member of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Chicago Annenberg Challenge, The Joyce Foundation, Leadership for Quality Education and Woods Fund of Chicago. He served as Illinois state senator, 1997-2004; U.S. senator from Illinois, 2005-present; keynote speaker at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Did you know?
Obama’s middle name is in honor of his father, Hussein, who also was educated at Harvard University. His nicknames are “Barry,” “Bama” and “Rock.” He is the author of two best-selling books: “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance,” an autobiography, and “The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.” Obama was the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review and was a lecturer on constitutional law at the University of Chicago. He is the only African-American currently serving in the U.S. Senate, the third since Reconstruction and the fifth in U.S. history.
SOURCES: facebook.com, barackobama.com, obama.senate.gov, sourcewatch.org, votesmart.org, reuters.com, projects.washingtonpost.com, associatedcontent.com, imdb.com
