He's used his birthday to raise money. He's had his mother use his birthday to raise money.

Now John McCain is using the 40th anniversary of his being shot down in Vietnam to raise money.

In an e-mail to supporters, McCain's campaign has sent out a photo of McCain, a Navy pilot, in the water after being shot down in 1967.

"He has given so much — join me in giving him a gift of $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000 or even $2,300 in remembrance of his past service to all of us and in support of a future McCain Presidency," Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager, pleads in the e-mail.

John Kerry used his service in Vietnam as the backbone of his Iowa caucuses comeback in 2004, can McCain do the same thing this time around?

— Stephen Dinan, national political reporter, The Washington Times