A Faux Pas in Need of Correction

So I was up a little early this morning (around 3:00 a.m.), unable to sleep due to the flu. As a means of relief, I turned on my television to one of the numerous cable news stations. As can be imagined, the only item of discussion (other than the monumental victory of the Giants over the Patriots) was the impending "Super Tuesday" primary elections. As I watched, half asleep from the cold medicine, I heard one of the news anchors proclaim that if John McCain wins the election, he will become the first and only president to have endured the agony of being a prisoner of war. I could hardly believe my ears. Even though John McCain is a genuine war hero of undisputed proportions, he will not become the first president to have been a P.O.W. That distinction belongs to "Old Hickory" himself.

That's right folks, Andrew Jackson is (thus far) the only president to have also been a prisoner of war. One of the most forgotten facts about Andrew Jackson is the fact that he fought in the American Revolution at the age of 14. He and his brother were wounded and captured by the British during a raid. It was Jackson's mother, Elizabeth, who freed him from captivity.

Anyway, I wanted to correct the historical illiteracy of this anonymous cable news station (Fox news...AKA..."fair and balanced").