All,
I have pasted below a variety of articles and comments on John McCain by Republicans and Democrats, and Liberals and Conservatives. Most of McCain’s admirers differed with him on some issues, and the flipside of passion is sometimes being a tad erratic. But through it all, one admired his honor and his willingness to fight to the end for a cause in which he believed.
These days, decent people long for political leaders who somehow find common ground and work across the aisle where possible without sacrificing core beliefs. As a minister once told me about doctrine, “focus on the major and not the minor issues.” To paraphrase him, honor God and love others, and don’t get hung up on the minutia. My interpretation … achieving lasting good matters; not ideological purity.
John McCain sometimes incensed me with his individual positions, but I’d take his irascible independence over 100 of the rigid Freedom Caucus members or those lockstep Democrats.
One night, I spent almost an hour walking in D.C. with John McCain. I was humbled by his humility, down-to-earth nature, and forthrightness. He was what I expected. Imperfect, but in his own way, noble.
My take … no one is perfect and if anyone was perfect, I wouldn’t want to spend time with them. If we gathered FDR, Lincoln and Washington for drinks and asked them if they ever screwed up, they’d choke and spew out their drinks, and laugh for 10 minutes before replying. When did we start expecting perfection from great leaders? The difference in McCain versus Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Donald Trump is that McCain may have made bad decisions, but at his core, he was an honorable public servant … a wilder version of Bush I. But hey, they were both Navy. They had met the elephant and lived to tell about it. God Bless those guys. We are the better for having known them.
Howard
McCain’s legacy will be about a trait, more than any individual cause that was both larger than himself and is in perilously short supply in American politics right now: Honor.
John McCain’s legacy: A sense of honor that has become rare in a polarized Washington
Analysis: McCain could be stubborn, but is best remembered for letting go of grudges and making common cause with opponents in the national interest.
Few of us have been tested the way John once was, or required to show the kind of courage that he did. But all of us can aspire to the courage to put the greater good above our own.” At John’s best, he showed us what that means. And for that, we are all in his debt. Michelle and I send our most heartfelt condolences to Cindy and their family.
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John McCain Remembered as Principled Leader
Washington awoke Sunday to an outpouring of grief and condolences, as leaders and commentators from both sides of the political aisle paid homage to Sen. John McCain after the Republican lawmaker’s family confirmed his death on Saturday from brain cancer. 93
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