John McCain biography

Though McCain won most of the New England states, his large electoral deficit forced him to "suspend" his campaign indefinitely. On May 9, 2000, after holding out for two months, McCain formally endorsed Bush.

In August 2000, McCain was diagnosed with skin cancer (he had lesions on his face and arm, which doctors determined were unrelated to a similar lesion he had removed in 1993). He subsequently underwent surgery,

during which all the cancerous tissue was successfully removed. McCain also underwent routine prostate surgery for an enlarged prostate in August 2001.

McCain was back in the headlines in the spring of 2001, when the Senate debated and eventually passed, by a vote of 59-41, a broad overhaul of the campaign finance system. The bill was the fruit of McCain's six-year effort to reform the system, along with Democratic Senator Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin. Central to the McCain-Feingold bill was a controversial ban on the unrestricted contributions to political parties known as "soft money." The new law was narrowly upheld by the Supreme Court in 2003.

'Maverick' Reputation

McCain supported the Iraq War, but criticized the Pentagon several times, especially about low troop strength. At one point, McCain declared that he had "no confidence" in the leadership of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. McCain supported the 2007 surge of more than 20,000 troops, which supporters said increased security in Iraq.

McCain also publicly supported President Bush's bid for re-election, although he differed with Bush on several issues, including torture, pork barrel spending, illegal immigration, a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and global warming. He also defended the Vietnam War record of Bush's opponent, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, which came under attack during the campaign.

With Bush limited to two terms, McCain officially entered the 2008 presidential race on April 25, 2007, during an announcement in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Not long after, he secured the Republican nomination in the election. After officially becoming the Republican Party's nominee, McCain delivered a speech: "Now, we begin the most important part of our campaign: to make a respectful, determined and convincing case to the American people that our campaign and my election as president, given the alternatives presented by our friends in the other party, are in the best interests of the country we love," he said.

However, McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, were defeated by Democrat Barack Obama in the 2008 election.

In Recent Years

At the Republican National Convention in 2012, McCain showed his support for Republican 2012 election candidates Mitt Romney (presidential nominee) and Paul Ryan (vice-presidential nominee). McCain made a speech at the event, in it emphasizing a need for change in American foreign policy and new military action in the Middle East, specifically in Syria and Iran.

He began his narrative by noting the outcome of the 2008 election.