Life is about to come to an end for a man I have long admired.
John McCain has represented my home state of Arizona for decades, first in the U.S. House of Representatives and then in the U.S. Senate. He has done so with fire, passion and a wonderful sense of humor.
It has not always been smooth sailing, of course. In the 1980s he was caught up in the savings and loan scandal and was one of the Keating Five. He managed to survive that, but he can be very fiery at times, and his hot head has gotten him into trouble from time to time. He has also made some decisions, including initially opposing a holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that he later admitted were wrong.
And that’s one thing about McCain that I have always admired: He is not afraid to say when he is or was wrong. For example, when he picked Sarah Palin to be his running mate in the 2008 campaign, many political watchers (myself included) found it to be a horrible choice. Time has proven that to be correct, and McCain now admits he made the wrong choice.
Not many politicians will ever admit to making mistakes – in fact, it is a pathetic epidemic these days. That is a sure sign of weakness in a leader, and weak is something McCain is not.
Of course, we all know the brutal torture he endured at the hands of the Vietnamese during that war when he was a prisoner. Offered the chance by his captures to go home, as he was the son of an admiral, McCain refused.
I met McCain on a couple of occasions, and was always impressed. I saw him go toe to toe with protestors at the Student Union at Northern Arizona University when he visited campus in the early 1990s. He was just walking though, started getting shouted at, and took a stage to answer questions from an at times hostile crowd. He was tough, but always fair. He would listen to you if you listened to him.
He was not afraid to get into a verbal sparring match, that’s for sure.
As a reporter, I met with him one-on-one for an interview at my second newspaper job. He drove himself three hours to our town for a visit – no aides, no handlers.
Trust me, that is unheard of when it comes to politicians, especially U.S. Senators.
I was not surprised when everyone fell in love with McCain when he initially ran for president in 2000. He is folksy, funny and down to earth. He was not and has never been afraid of bucking the wishes of his party, and that cost him on 2000, sadly.
He was not the same candidate in 2008, to me. He was trying too hard to appease a base that he was at times at odds with. But McCain still maintained his dignity, and refused to let people question the honor or patriotism of his opponent, President Obama.
John McCain is fighting an aggressive brain cancer and is apparently already saying his goodbyes. He was still alive as I wrote this, and I, for one, am sorry to see him go. I did not always agree with him, and at times he went far off the rails.
But McCain loves this country and has served it well. I wish there were more like him in public office. We will be worse off without John McCain in Washington, D.C.
Senator, thank you for your service to our state and this nation. You will be missed.
