On John McCain

brianlux

Just saw this note from Sanders on FB and though it was cool:

"John McCain is an American hero, one of the most respected members of the U.S. Senate and a friend. At this difficult moment, the hopes and prayers of the nation are with him and his family."

McCain never has been a favorite of mine but when he did an interview with Bill McKibben (who is largely responsible for starting up 350.org, an organization dedicated to slowing global warming) I read some things about McCain that I thought were right on.  Not the greatest politician ever but a damn sight better than many,

No need for hate here, just good thoughts for Mr. McCain.

dignin

https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/887836712822558720

RiotZact

Meanwhile our current president mocked his military service. You clearly made the right choice America, bravo!

Best wishes to Mr. McCain, fight that shit hard.

gimmesometruth27

i came back specifically to post about mccain. i saw the other locked thread and was mortified. glad it was locked.

for years i have been very, very critical of mccain. i post about him with a cynicism that is difficult to match. i admired him leading up to the 2000 campaign, when he was the maverick. i hated what the bush campaign did to him. 

then, in 2008, he brought us sarah palin. i was never able to trust him again after that. i lost a lot of respect for him at that time. he redeemed himself in my eyes when at that campaign event he shut that woman down who called obama a muslim. he called obama a decent man, that he just had disagreements with. to me, that was one of the brightest moments in our political discourse of the last 20 years. he did not have to defend obama in that moment, but he did. he could have pulled a trump and encouraged that woman to call obama a muslim and communist, but he respectfully took the microphone away from her and shut her down. i admire him for that.

since then, he has become very predictable. he would publicly go against the republican grain and then quietly vote the party line. almost every singe time. he called that protester a low life scum. i thought that was beneath his dignity as a senator. he holds a public office, and should be subject to what his constituents's criticism.

then trump attacked him for being captured. and mccain did nothing about it. he supported trump in the end, and unfortunately that is going to be his legacy. he helped bring forth this stench on our country, and that will never, ever fade. 

i admire mccain for his service and his courage as a vet. i question his voting record on many issues. but i respect him for standing up at times when it did matter. 

no matter what i think of him or his voting record, he will always be remembered as an american hero.

at this moment i can't help but think of the irony that two lions of the senate, kennedy, and mccain, both battled brain cancer at a time when the health care debate is raging in dc.

i suppose, as i look over his career, he is a decent man. there have been far worse in the senate. and there is one a million times worse in the white house. i have come to realize that mccain is a decent man that i happen to disagree with. my thoughts are with him and his family and i am hoping that he is able to beat this. 

Lizard

I was saddened to read this and wish Sen. McCain the best in beating this.
Fuck Cancer.

brianlux

gimmesometruth27 said:

i came back specifically to post about mccain. i saw the other locked thread and was mortified. glad it was locked.

for years i have been very, very critical of mccain. i post about him with a cynicism that is difficult to match. i admired him leading up to the 2000 campaign, when he was the maverick. i hated what the bush campaign did to him. 

then, in 2008, he brought us sarah palin. i was never able to trust him again after that. i lost a lot of respect for him at that time. he redeemed himself in my eyes when at that campaign event he shut that woman down who called obama a muslim. he called obama a decent man, that he just had disagreements with. to me, that was one of the brightest moments in our political discourse of the last 20 years. he did not have to defend obama in that moment, but he did. he could have pulled a trump and encouraged that woman to call obama a muslim and communist, but he respectfully took the microphone away from her and shut her down. i admire him for that.

since then, he has become very predictable. he would publicly go against the republican grain and then quietly vote the party line. almost every singe time. he called that protester a low life scum. i thought that was beneath his dignity as a senator. he holds a public office, and should be subject to what his constituents's criticism.

then trump attacked him for being captured. and mccain did nothing about it. he supported trump in the end, and unfortunately that is going to be his legacy. he helped bring forth this stench on our country, and that will never, ever fade. 

i admire mccain for his service and his courage as a vet. i question his voting record on many issues. but i respect him for standing up at times when it did matter. 

no matter what i think of him or his voting record, he will always be remembered as an american hero.

at this moment i can't help but think of the irony that two lions of the senate, kennedy, and mccain, both battled brain cancer at a time when the health care debate is raging in dc.

i suppose, as i look over his career, he is a decent man. there have been far worse in the senate. and there is one a million times worse in the white house. i have come to realize that mccain is a decent man that i happen to disagree with. my thoughts are with him and his family and i am hoping that he is able to beat this. 

I feel the same way, gimme.  Basically a good man with what I see as an oft flawed political career.  His choice of Palin as VP candidate was an all-time baffler and a huge career misstep.  He must know that.  So yeah, flawed for sure, but not totally f'd up like... you know.  And definitely not worthy of the trashing that other thread started out as.  That raised my eyebrows quite a bit. 

But in any case, here we move on an hopefully wish the man well and thank him for the braver, brighter side of his efforts.

brianlux

And more appropriate to the subject, I did change this thread title.

Spiritual_Chaos

He gave us this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR5FGkpfsbM

HesCalledDyer

Couldn't have said it any better than Brian and Gimme already have.  Whether I've agreed with his politics or not, I've always had a great respect for John McCain as a person.

Best wishes to Mr. McCain and winning the fight against cancer!

Gern Blansten

Best wishes to him.  I wonder if this has anything to do with his kind of rambling questioning of Comey.  He really seemed out of sorts then.

Back in 2000 I would have voted for McCain if he would have picked a decent VP.  

Gern Blansten

RiotZact said:

Meanwhile our current president mocked his military service. You clearly made the right choice America, bravo!

Best wishes to Mr. McCain, fight that shit hard.

And I bet he doesn't regret saying it if asked again.  I thought that statement about McCain would sink tRump.  Unreal.

Edit: When you put tRump's comment in the context of how both men were serving the nation at the time it's even more unreal.  McCain was being tortured and tRump was paying doctors to give him medical excuses for avoiding the draft.  Remember the "bone spurs" that he had...the ones where he couldn't remember which foot he had the bone spur in?

mcgruff10

dignin said:

https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/887836712822558720

Awesome tweet Barack! 
Kick cancers ass McCain!!

MayDay10

Its sad.  I think it is the same form of cancer Gord Downey has.  McCain seems like a good guy

McCain is OK.  Kind of a partisan Republican, but always seems to be leading a bit of the voice of reason charge, doesnt always 'get in line'. He has been a strong R voice to push back on Trump a little.  He always has been way too war-hawkish for my tastes.... but with that being said, we need people of all views represented and I believe he has always done it with class and high integrity.   Let's face it, Arizona, especially old-guard, isn't electing Elizabeth Warren as a Senator.

I guess this probably explains his bizarre line of questioning to Comey.

pjhawks

Cancer is far worse than any politicians ideals or voting history. I would never wish it upon someone. Here is hoping for the best for McCain. 

jeffbr

Devastating news for McCain and his family. I wish him the best in his fight with cancer. I hope he stays strong and kicks its ass. While I miss the maverick McCain from previous decades, even now he has occasionally been the voice of reason against Trump's insanity or petulance, and that will be missed.

PJ_Soul

pjhawks said:

Cancer is far worse than any politicians ideals or voting history. I would never wish it upon someone. Here is hoping for the best for McCain. 

I can think of a few people I would wish it upon, but McCain isn't one of them. I don't like him, but I don't hate him. This is sad - a brain tumour is one of the most devastating diagnoses that a person and their family can possibly get. It's usually a bad, slow death. 

josevolution

Yeah no need for hate this man sacrificed a whole lot for this country the least people can do is send good thoughts towards him ! 

Spiritual_Chaos

riley540

I grew up in anchorage alaska and was in 7th grade when he ran for president. At the time, Sarah plain was a local hero, she was surprisingly an awesome governor and well known locally. When she was picked most Alaskans were excited, and I was too at my young age. There is a popular Alaskan radio show on the rock station called Bob and Mark. One morning in September of 08 they got a call from candidate McCain. Plain told him to call the radio show. It was really cool for everyone listening. Small time radio show has a presidential candidate call. 
Any ways, just a cool story relating to John McCain. Hope he can beat it! I love seeing everyone pull together to give him well wishes. 

Thirty Bills Unpaid

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3c-Ijky95dc

OnWis97

That clip is great.  But it's almost sad that we need to praise that.