Would You Be In Favor Of Taking McCains’ “Disability Pension” from the Navy?

Posted by on 4/23/2008

I ask you this because the LAT’s does have a problem with it:

Sen. John McCain has long said he is in robust health and is strong enough to hike the Grand Canyon, but he also is receiving what his staff Monday termed a “disability pension” from the Navy.
When McCain released his tax return for 2007 on Friday, he separately disclosed that he received a pension of $58,358 that was not listed as income on his return.
On Monday, McCain’s staff identified the retirement benefit as a “disability pension” and said that McCain “was retired as disabled because of his limited body movements due to injuries as a POW.”
McCain campaign strategist Mark Salter said Monday night that McCain was technically disabled. “Tortured for his country ” that is how he acquired his disability,” Salter said.
Certain types of military and veterans pensions are either partially or completely tax-exempt, depending on the seriousness of the disability. In McCain’s case, the exemption is 100%.

Are they questioning his ability to serve as POTUS? You bet, but wasn’t FDR in a wheelchair? I do believe he was, and I don’t believe the public was aware of all of his medical problems. Putting that aside, McCain is entitled to the pension, as are any other soldiers that served their country and were left disabled as a result. Remind yourselves of what kind of service one gets at the Hanoi Hilton. Go ahead, just listen.

Ed offers this:

Let’s try addressing all three:

  • The 100% disability from the military doesn’t mean that the person cannot work any longer at all, although in some cases it’s certainly true. It comes from a medical calculation of mobility and loss, handled by the Department of Defense. POWs who had been tortured certainly would have received a generous evaluation.
  • The tax status of his disability pay is a rather stupid topic. He’s obviously not dodging his tax responsibilities. If the exemption exists, what’s newsworthy about it?
  • Vartabedian might want to look back in history to another President with much more profound disabilities to determine whether McCain can fulfill his duties. FDR served three full terms and part of a fourth, mostly confined to a wheelchair, and he all but won a two-front world war.

    • Greg:

    So now we are getting an attack on the disabled — especially disabled veterans. So much for supporting the troops.

    And so much for the memory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who led this country through the Depression and WWII in steel leg braces and a wheel chair. After all, neither he nor McCain has a disability that impacts the most essential part of the anatomy necessary to serve as president — the brain.

    Democrats have already begun a series of low-blow attacks upon John McCain and his military service. Now the press has done so as well. It strikes me as incumbent upon Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama — not to mention every patriotic American — to denounce these shameful efforts and instead honor John McCain for his service and dedication to this country.

    Why stop with McCain, why not go after every Vet that receives this pension?

    John McCain, National News, Presidential Election '08

    2 Comments.

    1. Robert 4/23/2008 at April 23, 2008 - 11:35 AM

      Perhaps the LA Slimes would prefer to take away McCain’s pension, which he suffered for 5 torturous years to earn, and give it to illegals? Or give it some-double dipping Congress pukebag?

      The LA Slimes is another example of organizational mental illness caused by the unusually high concentration of mentally-ill individuals.

    2. BonBon 4/24/2008 at April 24, 2008 - 08:54 AM

      I think if he meets the requirements he should keep it. No discrimination whatsoever. He may be in great shape, he seems to be holding up well on the campaign trail but you can see by the way he holds his arm or the protrusion in his jaw that all is not necessarily well.

      Pain management.