Davis Links Slur by McCain to POW Ordeal

Gov. Gray Davis said Wednesday that fellow Vietnam veteran John McCain should not have used a slur to describe his North Vietnamese captors, but added that people should consider the Republican presidential candidate’s ordeal as a prisoner of war before criticizing him.

Speaking two weeks before California’s March 7 primary, Davis, who is campaigning for Vice President Al Gore, told reporters he understands some of McCain’s bitterness toward the North Vietnamese who held him captive for more than five years during the Vietnam War.

As he campaigned in South Carolina last week, McCain, a former Navy pilot who was shot down and held as a POW, defended his use of the term “gook” to describe the North Vietnamese soldiers who held him prisoner.

“I will continue to refer to them in language that might offend some people because of the beating and torture of my friends,” the Arizona senator said last week.

Earlier this week, the McCain campaign sought to soften the comments, saying in a statement that McCain had renounced the offensive language. The statement quoted McCain as apologizing for “all language that is bigoted and offensive, which is contrary to all that I represent and believe.”

In an interview with The Times on Wednesday, McCain said he would not continue to utter the term “because I don’t want to feel the fire.” But he also said he did not view the matter as a misstep.

“You can view that as a misstep if you want to,” he said. “I’ll call sadists and murderers a lot worse than that.”

Davis, who was an Army captain and served in the Army Signal Corps in Vietnam, was hesitant to discuss McCain’s use of the slur, initially saying he would not comment on it in any detail. “I don’t sanction the comment,” he said, trying to end reporters’ questioning.

But in somewhat hushed tones, the Democratic governor added: “I would not have used the word. On the other hand, those who criticize [McCain] should mentally put themselves in his place, 5 1/2 years of being beaten in a cell about 5 1/2 feet wide.”

Throughout his political career, Davis has emphasized his status as a veteran, and has sought support from other veterans.

“I’m not going to give him a pass on that phraseology,” Davis said. “On the other hand, if you’ve been in a life-and-death struggle, obviously your animosities are pretty strong, and they last a long time.”

Davis suggested that McCain should get over his anger, much as the United States has gotten beyond Japan and Germany’s aggression during World War II. However, Davis said he himself is “not yet prepared” to return to Vietnam, although the United States has opened relations with the nation.

“We appreciate the fact that [Davis] said, ‘Before we judge him, let’s consider the circumstances,’ ” said McCain campaign spokesman Peter DeMarco.

McCain’s comments have offended some Asian Americans, and could be significant in California, where they make up 11% of the population.

“Some people are mad enough that if he doesn’t retract it, they will protest,” said Stewart Kwoh, executive director of Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Los Angeles.

“Even though we understand his anger,” Kwoh added, “it doesn’t justify the use of a term that has been used against all Asians. He should not use it. He should apologize for his past use of it.”

Davis would not predict whether McCain will beat Texas Gov. George W. Bush in the California Republican primary. But he said McCain “has a very powerful personal story.”

“Any time you take on the establishment . . . where you’re perceived as the underdog, people cheer for you,” Davis said. “But in the end, Californians want a president whose views are compatible with theirs.”

Citing McCain’s opposition to abortion rights and gun control, Davis said: “Those issues cut against McCain and Bush, for that matter, and for the Democrats. [McCain’s] challenge is to make his personal compelling story more important to the voter, than any issues on which there may be disagreement.”