During the late 1980s , McCain gained some national visibility . He delivered a speech , about a fellow Hanoi Hilton prisoner 's persistence in making an American flag despite beatings , that drew audience tears and a standing ovation at the 1988 Republican National Convention . He was mentioned by the press as being on the short list for Republican nominee George H. W. Bush 's vice-presidential running mate , and was named chairman of Veterans for Bush . In 1989 , he became a staunch defender of his friend John Tower 's doomed nomination for U.S. Secretary of Defense ; McCain butted heads with Moral Majority co-founder Paul Weyrich , who was challenging Tower regarding alleged heavy drinking and extramarital affairs . Thus began McCain 's difficult relationship with the Christian right ; he would later write that Weyrich was " a pompous self-serving son of a bitch . " McCain supported the United States invasion of Panama in 1989 . McCain partnered with Senator Al Gore on the 1989 Missile and Proliferation Control Act , which established sanctions on companies and nations that engaged in the trade or development of long-range missile systems , and the 1992 Iran-Iraq Arms Nonproliferation Act ( commonly known as the Gore-McCain Act ) , which established penalties for persons and companies assisting Iraq or Iran in acquiring missile technology
1988 Republican National Convention
1988 Republican National Convention
House and Senate career of John McCain, until 2000