Three Senators missed the vote for Senator Jim Webb’s 21st Century GI Bill: Senator Ted Kennedy, for health reasons; Senator Tom Coburn, to attend a funeral; and Senator John McCain, to attend a swanky California fundraiser.

Then yesterday, after being criticized by Senator Barack Obama for his opposition to the bill, Senator John McCain said:

I believe that I have earned the right to speak out on veterans’ issues. As a matter of fact I received the highest award from literally every veteran’s organization in America. I don’t know if the American people will judge Senator Obama as to whether he has military experience or not, but they may judge him as to whether he has experience and knowledge to make the judgment necessary to care for the veterans.

In fact, his stance against the GI bill not only places him squarely in the minority of the Senate, but puts him in opposition to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the American Legion, and the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

The recognition McCain has received from veterans groups is not “high awards” but failing grades:

— Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave McCain a grade of D for his record of voting against veterans. (By contrast, Obama got a B+.)

— Disabled Veterans of America noted McCain’s dismal 20 percent voting record on veterans’ issues. (Obama had an 80 percent.)

— In a list of “Key Votes,” Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) notes McCain “Voted Against Us” 15 times and “Voted For Us” only 8. (Obama voted for VVA 12 times, and against only once.)

McCain frequently cites his own experience as a POW in Vietnam as the ultimate evidence of his dedication to his fellow veterans. Unfortunately, his record…

Thirty-five years after McCain’s return to the United States, the Veterans Health Administration has undergone a sea change. […]

And for many of those thirty-five years, McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, the candidate who talks the best talk on veterans issues, has demonstrated a tendency to work against veterans’ interests, voting time after time against funding and in favor of privatizing services — in other words, of rolling back the VA’s improvements by supporting some of the same policies that wrecked Walter Reed.

…belies his rhetoric.Big Brass Blog - McSame Flip Flops On Supporting The Troops.