A book well worth reading is Washington and Benedict Arnold: A Tale of Two Patriots, by DAve R. Palmer, although I think the subtitle should be a Tale of A Patriot and a Traitor.
The book juxtaposes the careers of Washington and Arnold, giving a chronological description of their respective careers. Both were heroes of the Revolution. At the beginning. Washington had driven the British out of Boston, suffered tremendous losses when the British invaded New York City, but then escaped with the Continental Army to New Jersey. At Valley Forge he launched the attack on the Hessians and put life back into the dying Revolution.
Through the difficult winter at Valley Forge, Washington was beset by a group in the Continental Congress that wanted him replaced by Gen. Gates, the purported hero of the Battle of Saratoga. The Continental Congress through sheer ineptitude, stupidty and greed was responsible for keeping the soldiers starving and in rags at Valley Forge.
Benedict Arnold was the true hero at Saratoga, where the defeat of Burgoyne's troops coming from Canada was the first defeat of British regulars. Gen. Gates got the credit as commander in chief, although he did little. Arnold was severely wounded and spent months, if not a year recovering. (I am writing this on memory and the details are a little hazy.)
When the British finally left Philadelphia, Arnold went to the city. He was passed over several times for promotion by the Continental Congress. He began to associate with several of the wealthy loyalists in the City. His resentment at being passed over, the desire for money and recognition led him to betray the Army with the plans for the defenses of West Point. He was discovered and died in obscurity in England.
One became the hero and founder of his country and one was to become the watchword of Traitor to the American people. The book is a fascinating study that led to two very different endings for two brave soldiers.
Washington did not shirk from the spotlight, and actively sought to be head of the army and diplomatically countered the attempts to remove him. But, Washington always had a devotion to what the Revolutionaries called, their great cause. After being President for two terms, King George said that he would be the greatest leader ever, if he walked away from the power that is in leading a nation. And Washington did walk away because he knew that by staying he was inviting the same tyranny of an individual leader that he had fought against. His actions were always directed for the best ends of his great cause, his nation.
In contrast, Arnold's motitivations were always for the greater good of Arnold. The cause was a means of great glory, and when he was denied what he felt was his share of that glory, he went elsewhere. His fellow citizens, soldiers that had died on the battlefield, his fellow officers and comrades meant nothing to him if they stood in the way of his personal glorification.
The hero and the traitor.
John McCain is perceived as a hero. A man who fought for his country and suffered through imprisonment and torture. But he seems to have Arnold's same complete lack of any cause of purpose.
He wants to be President but to do what, except feed his own image as a great man. He is incoherent in spelling out anything about anything. The two major bills that have his name on are McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform, and the McCain-Kennedy Amnesty. The first bill put absolutely unthinkable limitations on the ability of Americans to finance elections. The second, if passed, would have meant for all practical purposes the end of the United States. It would have been, and still might be, the complete capitulation of the United States to its enemies, the new MexAmerica.
The disaster ahead, if McCain is President, or his Democratic rivals, is too gruesome to imagine. A massive flooding of the United States. If there are 20 million illegals now, they will be legal and joined by another twenty million.
The only hope is the knowledge, that even if this awful scenario comes to pass, the American people have thrown out invaders before and they can again. The French do not occupy the mid-west, the English do not occupy our towns and cities, the Spanish are gone from Florida, the French and British from New Orleans and the Mexicans were forced out of the Southwest, and have only recently returned. If there can be Reconquista, there can be Re-reconquista. Visa can be revoked, green cards returned, permanent residencies revoked.
If was a sight to see the Terminator, Giuliani and McCain on a stage congratulating themselves. Giuliani the Amnesty Mayor, the Terminator who has betrayed his adopted country, and McCain, as Arnold, hero turned traitor.