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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: 2, Troll) by VLM on Sunday August 26 2018, @12:44PM (2 children)
(crickets...)
He might have been a nice guy personally (or I have no evidence to the contrary) and he did have a sense of humor... here's a hilarious response to a journalist calling him out (rightly) for being a carpetbagger when he moved to the easiest senate seat to live when he entered politics, which randomly happened to be Arizona at that time:
The guy was kinda great-great-grandpa shitposter, in his own ancient way.
As for politics the guy was a fairly respectable example of a Democrat; admittedly he ran as a RINO which was required to win his senate seat, but in the set of politicians supporting the "ideals" of the Democrat Party, he was hardly the worst.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 26 2018, @02:14PM (1 child)
He voted against the dismantling of Obamacare, that hugely good.
(grin)
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday August 27 2018, @07:59AM
He didn't just toe the Republican Party line. Often, but not always.
I don't agree with a lot of his ideas, but I gave him credit for having more balls than pretty much all other R senators combined.
This democracy is based on having elected officials acting as individuals representing their constituents. We need more people ready to step out of party line for their principles.