Posted by Jed Lewison on Mon Aug 18, 2008 at 1:34 PM Pacific

Sullivan on McCain, Solzhenitsyn, and "Cross in the Dirt"

Andrew Sullivan's been on top of this story in a big way today. Here's a brief guide to his posts on the topic:

McCain's "Cross in the Dirt" Story
Did McCain's story come from Jesse Helms?
A 1995 book discussed about three of McCain's Christmases in captivity and failed to note the story (h/t: hilzoy)
McCain's Story Changed in His "Character of Destiny" Book
What was the role of McCain's co-author/speechwriter Mark Salter? And is the story oft-credited to Solzhenitsyn a fabrication by evangelicals (like Helms)?
Why did McCain tell the story in the third person in 1999?

Aside from the fact that McCain is favorably disposed towards embellishing his record, here's what I think are the most compelling pieces of evidence that his story is a fabrication:

In 1973, McCain said there was only one guarad who he felt was human. He recounts a story in 1969 of how that guard had helped him. The particulars don't match with the guard in his 1999 retelling. Moreover, in 1999 he said the "Cross in the Dirt" story happened in the first Christmas after meeting the guard, but in 1973 he said that between meeting the guard in 1969 and Christmas of 1969, he had been moved to a different prison.
There is no record of McCain telling the story before 1999, even though he discussed his religious experiences generally and Christmas specifically many times between 1973 and 1999.
The story McCain tells appears to have been falsely attributed to Solzhenitsyn by evangelicals starting with Jesse Helms in the 1970s. McCain could have easily overheard it and created a false memory, or Mark Salter would have decided to apply it to McCain.