re: #269 Olsonist

From the Wiki.

He graduated 894 of 899 from his class.

John McCain’s early military career began when he was commissioned an ensign and started two and a half years of training at Pensacola to become a naval aviator.[14] While there, he earned a reputation as a partying man.[7] He completed flight school in 1960, and became a naval pilot of ground-attack aircraft, assigned to A-1 Skyraider squadrons[15] aboard the aircraft carriers USS Intrepid and USS Enterprise[16] in the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas.[17] McCain began as a sub-par flier[17] who was at times careless and reckless;[18] during the early-to-mid 1960s, the planes he was flying crashed twice and once collided with power lines, but he received no major injuries.[18] His aviation skills improved over time,[17] and he was seen as a good pilot, albeit one who tended to “push the envelope” in his flying.[18]

Still, to even competently fly an A-4 demands a level of skill and intelligence well beyond most people. John McCain has the brains to be an effective leader.