Sen. John McCain, who faced down his captors in a Vietnam prisoner of war camp with jut-jawed defiance and later turned his rebellious streak into a 35-year political career that took him to Congress and the Republican presidential nomination, died Saturday after battling brain cancer for more than a year. He was 81.
McCain, with his irascible grin and fighter-pilot moxie, was a fearless and outspoken voice on policy and politics to the end, unswerving in his defense of democratic values and unflinching in his criticism of his fellow Republican, President Donald Trump. He was elected to the Senate from Arizona six times but twice thwarted in seeking the presidency.
An upstart presidential bid in 2000 didn't last long. Eight years later, he fought back from the brink of defeat to win the GOP nomination, only to be overpowered by Democrat Barack Obama. McCain chose a little-known Alaska governor as his running mate in that race, and turned Sarah Palin into a national political figure.
After losing to Obama in an electoral landslide, McCain returned to the Senate determined not to be defined by a failed presidential campaign in which his reputation as a maverick had faded. In the politics of the moment and in national political debate over the decades, McCain energetically advanced his ideas and punched back hard at critics — Trump not least among them.
The scion of a decorated military family, McCain embraced his role as chairman of the Armed Services Committee, pushing for aggressive U.S. military intervention overseas and eager to contribute to "defeating the forces of radical Islam that want to destroy America."
Asked how he wanted to be remembered, McCain said simply: "That I made a major contribution to the defense of the nation."
Also at The New York Timesand c|net.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Bot on Sunday August 26 2018, @08:15AM (12 children)
After what Trump said about POW, that's the bare minimum.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 26 2018, @09:44AM (11 children)
He's only being remembered fondly because he died...I prefer people who don't die! -DT #NOCOLLUSION #WITCHHUNT #LOCKHERUP #LOOKOVERTHERE
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 26 2018, @02:52PM (3 children)
For you know-nothing losers who don't get it, it's a parody of what Trump said about McCain being a POW.
Goddamn. I hate this
website"community". Well, I for one laughed.(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday August 26 2018, @04:35PM (2 children)
Your assumption is that the one, yes one, person who downmodded it didn't understand the comment was intended to be humorous.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 26 2018, @05:53PM (1 child)
Get it yet?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 26 2018, @09:31PM
No.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 26 2018, @02:56PM (5 children)
I beg the admins to please get rid of downmodding. It absolutely RUINS this website.
This website isn't popular enough to have actual spam or trolls who need to be shut down (and, FFS, this isn't even a troll!). Please. PLEASE. Take downmodding away from the actual self-loathing, dull, dead-eyed trolls, who just censor anything that is actually interesting or entertaining to read.
You need humor in life, assholes. Especially around death.
No. Not it hasn't. This website is total trash.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday August 26 2018, @04:39PM (3 children)
Never going to happen, and you might as well leave forever. How many times have you've made variations on this same comment? 50?
If you're already using Tor, how about you find some unmoderated dark web cesspool to call home?
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 26 2018, @05:52PM (2 children)
and I not-infrequently receive scores of 4 of 5 on this dank website, despite posting as an anonymous coward.
You want to keep people like me around, not give us the boot. However, it's getting increasingly tiresome around here.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 26 2018, @06:33PM
You and your incessant whining are getting increasingly tiresome.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 26 2018, @10:08PM
It's us members contributing to the operation of this site; perhaps we should vote on proposals to change the mod system.
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 26 2018, @07:01PM
This web site isn't popular enough for me to read at anything > -1. I see how the asshole downmodding mob works, but I'm not missing anything. In fact, the only thing I care to miss are DN and crazy story guy, and those are easy to skip over.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 26 2018, @03:30PM
love the hash-tag "lookoverthere", lol!