The Heart of an American
There is a governing tradition in America; one that, sadly, we seldom see today. It states that our partisan politics are just differing ways of achieving a common goal: a better life for Americans. If everyone is striving for the same goal, then politics is just technical, just a series of tactical maneuvers. At the the close of debate and end of day, opponents can walk out, together as comrades, knowing that they still share in that common goal.
In politics today they are more likely to “tweet” some insult about their opponent, or run off to a press appearance to explain why the other side “hates” some part of America. It makes it near impossible to reach across party or ideological lines and find compromise. Today the politics of polarization means that to compromise is to be attacked by the extremes of your own side.
There are a few who have tried to rise above the tide of division and hate. We lost one of those giants yesterday: Senator John S. McCain of Arizona.
McCain was a man in the truest sense of the word. His courage was tested under the most intense conditions: a fighter pilot who risked his life in defense of his nation, shot down in a jet fighter over Hanoi in the Vietnam War, over five years as a prisoner. The son and grandson of four-star Admirals, he refused an early release by the North Vietnamese, unwilling to give them the propaganda victory or gain his freedom out of turn. It cost him two additional years of captivity and torture.
McCain left the Navy to follow in even bigger footsteps: he won the Senate seat of retiring conservative icon Barry Goldwater of Arizona. And while McCain in general was a conservative, he really never followed a single ideological path. He chose his conscience, his determination of what was right and wrong, over ideology, and sometimes even over party.
He was a “Lion” of the Senate. He was able to reach across the aisle and work with any number of members from the other side. The pivotal campaign finance law that tried to keep “dark money” out of our elections was McCain-Feingold, where he joined a liberal Democrat Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, to try to improve our nation.
The law to truly fix immigration, charting a path to citizenship for many, was called McCain-Kennedy. Ted Kennedy, the liberal “Lion” and John McCain were able to work together, and though this particular effort failed, they established a friendship that went beyond the Senate. When Ted Kennedy died in 2009, remarkably of the same brain cancer, it was John McCain who gave the eulogy.
And this week we will see Democratic Vice President Biden and President Obama eulogize McCain, as well as Republican President George W Bush. These men were all rivals, but they also found deep respect for McCain: the respect of men with differing ways to achieve a common goal.
McCain was outspoken, even until the end. It was only a few weeks ago that he criticized President Trump for his performance in Helsinki. And he earned Trump’s permanent enmity by voting against the Senate bill to end the Affordable Care Act; the famous “thumbs down” late in the night. McCain wasn’t necessarily in favor of the Act, but he was absolutely opposed to the Senate Republicans short-circuiting of procedure to get it done. All Trump could do is mimic McCain’s action, ridiculing the movements of a man whose shoulders were broken by torturers.
McCain was a man of the Senate, but he twice ran for President. It was in his 2008 campaign that he proved his true loyalty to America, even above party, and even above his own ambitions. In a town hall meeting, an older woman declared that Barack Obama was “an Arab” that she couldn’t trust. McCain didn’t let her finish, taking the microphone back and stating, “He’s a decent family man/citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues.”
And it was in his incredibly gracious concession speech at the end of that campaign, where instead of being bitter and continuing strife, he spoke of the enormous historical significance of the election of the first African-American President, and concluded by offering the new leader his support.
It was in his final paragraph that night, that we saw the heart of that American, the true identity of John McCain. It is more than fitting that his own words from that night, are his lasting legacy today.
Tonight — tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Sen. Obama, I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president.
And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties but to believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.
Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history. Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America.
God Bless John McCain.
