Loss of McCain shows how much we’re missing
John McCain was a great man – war hero, senator, presidential candidate and, most of all, a “Maverick.” His death is being mourned by the people of Arizona, in Washington, D.C., and by Americans he inspired across the nation and across generations.
Many disagreed with McCain’s politics at various times, but no one could question his loyalty to America, his courage, his honesty or his simple human decency. If the mourning for his passing Saturday at age 81 seems intense, perhaps it’s because losing McCain represents a deeper loss to American society. In the death McCain, we see also the death of integrity in national politics.
Many people surely are serving in Washington with integrity. We just see it so seldom.
But in McCain there were no shortage of examples. He once rebuked a supporter after she repeated a common lie about his opponent, Barrack Obama. His single vote saved the Affordable Care Act, and kept millions of Americans from losing their health insurance. He resolutely rejected the use of torture because he knew first-hand that it would be repaid in kind. He linked arms with liberal Russ Feingold to reform campaign financing, an effort that could have helped drain Donald Trump’s swamp if the courts had left it intact.
As we mourn McCain’s passing, we also mourn the death of integrity, civility and bipartisanship. So do others:
Newsday – In 2015, Sen. John McCain told an interviewer he had chosen his own epitaph. His gravestone will read: “He served his country.” That is exactly what the Arizona senator did, faithfully and imperfectly, passionately and stubbornly, lovingly and brashly, all his life. He was a uniquely American character, most notable for his soldiering, Senate service and two unsuccessful runs for the presidency. His humor and irascible unpredictability kept McCain careening over a roller-coaster of popularity across the political spectrum, never more so than in the final chapter, his proper and principled opposition to President Donald Trump. After the president had a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, McCain said: “No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant.” ... John McCain served his country and his ideals as best he could, for as long as he could. He picked his epitaph, and he earned it.
Chicago Tribune – Over the course of American history, a handful of U.S. senators have been so consequential that they are remembered better than some presidents. Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, Everett Dirksen and Ted Kennedy. John McCain, who died Saturday, deserves to be added to this exclusive company. He was one of a kind – a blunt-spoken legislator with a sense of humor who followed a sometimes unpredictable course, often clashed with his own party and exercised an outsized influence. ... Unlike many of his GOP colleagues, he didn’t shrink from criticizing Trump ... (calling) the president’s July news conference with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.” ... McCain was sometimes wrong, but he was fearless in fighting for the principles he held dearest. ... He will be remembered in many ways – war hero, political maverick, reformer and staunch advocate for an assertive American role in world affairs. But he will be remembered most as a patriot.
The San Diego Union-Tribune – When McCain died Saturday, the nation’s sorrow was immense and palpable. Those who served with him in the Navy, the House and the Senate, who covered him as journalists and who encountered him in campaigns offered near-unanimous praise of his charismatic style. ... The Senate is already discussing renaming its office building for him. Even in this divisive age, America’s most august body should be able to win unanimity for that. ... Losing to Obama in 2008, McCain told supporters, “And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours.” Such humility is sorely missing in national politics where service to party drives debate. McCain mostly flew above that fray, where others dared not.
New York Times – Five years of torture in a Vietnamese prison camp appeared to have left (McCain) with a pretty good idea of who he was, an ability to think for himself and the capacity to tune out partisan noises. He had principles, and he had flaws. ... But in a Senate mostly devoid of the kind of commanding figures who once roamed its halls, he was a rare bird.