John McCain

John McCain (R-AZ) is currently in his fifth term as a US Senator and was the Republican candidate for President in 2008. Prior to serving in the Senate, he served two terms in the US House of Representatives. An aviator who served in the Navy for 22 years, McCain is also known for his five-and-one-half year detention as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. He frequently references an incident during his captivity in which a Vietnamese captor traced a cross in the dust after loosening McCain's restraints. Raised an Episcopalian, McCain began attending a Baptist church in Arizona and identifies as a Baptist. McCain gained significant attention in May 2006 when he delivered the commencement address at Rev. Jerry Falwell's Liberty University; McCain had previously labeled Falwell an “agent of intolerance” and continues to have a strained relationship with many of the leaders of the Religious Right.