Tigh | McCain |
Tortured in Cylon prison camp | Tortured in North Vietnamese prison camp |
65-year-old bald Caucasian male with distinguished white sideburns | 72-year-old bald-ish Caucasian male with vague white comb-over |
Third-generation career Colonial military officer | Third-generation career Naval officer |
Had attractive blond wife with drinking problems | Has attractive blond wife who has admitted to past pill addiction |
Member of the Final Five, a group of human-like robots who may be secretly controlled by Cylons | Member of the Keating Five, a group of senators who were allegedly secretly controlled by the chair of a failed savings-and-loan association in the late 1980s |
Imposed martial law throughout the Colonial Fleet when command fell to him | “I would rather have a clean government than one where ‘First Amendment rights’ are being respected that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I’d rather have the clean government.” |
Wife’s dubious connections with Cylon commandant allows Tigh to escape certain doom while imprisoned in Cylon camp | Wife’s connections with Phoenix-area businessmen allow “carpetbagger” McCain to win first congressional seat in 1982 |
Called wartime civilian president a “schoolmarm” | “[During the Vietnam War] We thought our civilian commanders were complete idiots.” |
Attempted to rig election to keep Gaius Baltar from taking office; was foiled by Felix Gaeta | Attempted to win 2000 South Carolina Republican primary to keep George Bush from taking office; was foiled by Karl Rove |
Has difficulty perceiving differences between Cylon allies (Athena) and enemies (the rest); frequently accuses Athena of traitorous conduct | Has difficulty perceiving differences between Iran's Shiite and Sunni Muslims; frequently accuses Iranian Shiites of training Al Qaeda members, who are largely Sunnis |
Currently confused about allegiance to humans vs. his Cylon past | Currently confused about his allegiance to the Christian Right vs. his “Straight Talk” past |
On religion: “You say a prayer, ask the Gods to forgive us. We move the guns in tonight.” | On religion: “I think it’s something between me and my creator.” |
On the current un-winnable war against the Cylons: “Yes, we’re tired. Yes, there is no relief. Yes, the Cylons keep coming after us time after time after time. And yes, we are still expected to do our jobs!” | On the current questionably winnable war against Iraq: “We’ve got to get Americans off the frontlines, have the Iraqis as part of the strategy, take over more and more of the responsibilities, and then I don’t think Americans are concerned if we’re there for 100 years or 1000 years or 10,000 years.” |
