If you look at the many great war heroes chronicled in American history, they are usually the ones whose actions contribute to victory. Getting captured and being held prisoner does not help one's country win a war.

And while being held as a POW is a monumental sacrifice for one's country, McCain should occasionaly mention that 60,000 other American servicemembers made a sacrifice infinitely greater than his 5 years in prison: they lost their lives in vietnam -- never to return to the U.S. and dump their wife for a rich heiress or use their father-in-law's connections to get a lifelong career in national politics.