A Call for McCain to Come Clean

He has been hiding in the shadows long enough and, if he accepts the nomination, John McCain must fill in the blanks of an unexamined life for the American people.

Once and for all, he must tell us whether or not he wore a uniform and for how long? What about those rumors that he flew a plane, was shot down and incarcerated in some kind of foreign detention facility?

Reticence is an admirable virtue, but this strong-silent-man stuff deprives voters of a window into his soul. Is he really the mild-mannered man we have been led to believe or does he occasionally lose control and speak above an amiable whisper?

Can voters be sure he will always go along with the consensus or has he been known to stray from the path of accepted wisdom that has kept America safe and secure for so long?

Most of all, does he have the least bit of combative, confrontational spirit to sustain him in a time of crisis?

The man is likable enough, but perhaps just too shy to be President. For a start, he might at least tell us how old he is, who his people were and what he was doing before he entered public service.

We can't elect a cipher.