A Maverick’s Sad Finale

This is a risky topic to write about because of the widely mixed emotions it inspires. Most of the time we have some clue of the possible range of reactions from our audience. Not this time – so we accept there may be more legitimate disagreement with our position than usual.

One of the reasons Senator McCain is so interesting to us right now is because every current news article you read about him, no matter the source, is very guarded. It’s a carefully managed balancing act to show sympathy for his health, honor for his service, and at the same time criticism for some of his recent statements and actions as a Senator. A candid discussion of the latter is nearly impossible without being driven to, or overwhelmed by, sympathy and honor for the man. Our thought experiment here is to talk about Senator McCain’s recent words and actions without that guard up. He very much has our sympathies as regards his health and our respect for his military service to the country, but that’s not the topic here.

We would characterize the public statements and Senate actions of John McCain during this last year to be rooted in either vengeance, vanity or both. It sounds cruel, we know, but it is an inescapable observation. As a Senator who for so very long made positive contributions to the governance of this country, he has lately used his position to satisfy his own personal motives instead. While this is not necessarily unusual behavior for some elected officials, it is out of character for Senator McCain, even in his persona as a “Maverick”. It’s a sad way to end a career, and even more sad that his colleagues are so terrified of the media that they dare not challenge or confront him. Here are three statements/actions that form the basis of our opinion:

1.       His Senate vote on Healthcare – This past fall, the Republican version of a healthcare bill came before the Senate. It would have been a signature achievement for President Trump (and most Republicans) had it passed. However, for a long time the Senate remained one vote shy of being able to pass the bill. One of the reasons was because Senator McCain was convalescing at home after his recent brain surgery. It had been anticipated that he would vote in favor of the bill were he there.  Now the bill was effectively dead in its tracks and was not going to be brought to a vote knowing it would lose. Then, Senator McCain announced he would be flying to Washington after all to cast his vote. Suddenly, the bill was alive and well and although it would have to pass in a tie-breaker, it was nevertheless going to pass with McCain’s presence and presumed “yes” vote. Or so everyone thought. As expected, McCain made a triumphant entry into the Senate chamber with cheers from both sides. Bipartisan respect and sympathy was on full display. Unexpectedly he waited until the very last minute and then voted “No”, sending the bill down to defeat. To us, this action displayed both vanity and vengeance in equal measure with no other logical or governance purpose. If Senator McCain simply wanted to see the bill defeated, all he had to do was stay home where he was recovering – the bill was already dead without his “no” vote. Instead, he shamelessly took advantage of the situation for personal vanity and to embarrass the President. His action provided no contribution at all to a governance or policy decision – the same result would have occurred without his presence. Instead, it was all about personal aggrandizement.

2.       Statement about Sarah Palin – Recently, John McCain said he regretted choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008 and should’ve chosen his friend Joe Lieberman instead. The only reason we can think of for why he said this is to have us believe he might have won the election had he made the Lieberman choice. He seems to be ignoring the fact that when he chose Sarah Palin, she had not yet been reduced in the public eye to the alternate personality created by the media and brought to life so convincingly by Tina Fey. The actual Sarah Palin was the hands-down star of the Republican convention, generating a much larger viewing audience and infinitely more enthusiasm than Senator Lieberman could possibly have inspired. Plus, if we’ve learned anything in hindsight from the 2008 election, it’s that Barack Obama was riding a big popularity wave, and would likely have beaten any Republican challenger. So why did Senator McCain make this statement now? The only effect it has is to disparage Sarah Palin and place the blame on her for his election defeat. We find this every bit as cowardly and distasteful as Hillary Clinton’s constant diatribe of her election defeat being someone else’s fault.

3.       Requesting that the President not attend his Funeral – this was just plain silly, and only lends more credence to the motive of vengeance in McCain’s present behavior. Unlike most of the media, we did not see anything unusual with Senator McCain’s request that former President Obama speak at his funeral (they had worked together). But to publicly disinvite the sitting President shows nothing but an ugly disrespect for the office to which Senator McCain himself once aspired. Also, because of McCain’s high news profile these days, these kinds of statements serve only to further divide the public, completely contradicting McCain’s own description of himself as being a “uniter”.

Senator John McCain did a number of good things in his career as a US Senator. However, his words and actions this past year seem to have been completely driven by bitter emotion rather than his usual thoughtfulness and consideration of overall context. His health problems have no doubt played a role. The sad truth is that, at least to us, his words and actions in these last twelve months will disproportionately downgrade what could have been a great legacy to just a good one.