His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
— Matthew 25:23 (NRSV)
Sen. McCain could not raise an arm because of the unbelievable torture his body endured in years of captivity.
Everybody in American who loved John McCain, and that’s the vast majority of Americans and people around the world except Putin and friends, hated John McCain sometimes.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (D) and U.S. Senator John McCain the Maverick Republican.
REUTERS photo/Fahad Shadeed
I loved Sen. McCain, but it took me a long time to forgive him for inflicting Sarah Palin on us.
History has revealed that McCain very much wanted then-Democrat and senatorial colleague Joe Lieberman for his running mate, which would have been a huge gamble. But he caved in to advisors and gambled on Palin.
His presidential campaign was sunk from the get-go anyway, at a time when Americans were so down on the endless wars McCain and Bush backed, not to mention the Republican president’s near-economic Depression.
McCain was way too hawkish and pro-war for my taste, and that’s what I hated about McCain the political leader.
But that’s how great leadership goes. A great leader is willing to stand like a rock and be decisive, strong and principled in ways that are sure to win love and praise from some quarters and intense hatred from other directions.
A great leader can also apologize when he or she is dead wrong. McCain’s biggest apology to the American people came when he got caught up in a big economic scandal back in the day.
A strong leader has a big, healthy ego, but is humbled by the office he or she holds. McCain said constantly over his long and very long political career that he was imperfect and made more than his share of big mistakes.
A strong political leader is not only decisive, but also articulate enough to explain, in unambiguous and eloquent terms, the reasons for his or her votes, as McCain did.
There was a whole other John McCain, the military hero, who was superhuman in his tolerance for pain and suffering. He was equally superhuman in his integrity and principles for rejecting two offers by his captors for early release after they learned his father was an admiral in the U.S. Navy.
See here for an overview of the torture the POW John McCain endured.
And here’s another mark of his admirable integrity: McCain was a man of deep Christian faith, but quiet faith, the best kind of faith.
Unlike 99 percent of Republican politicians today, he never, ever pandered to Christian voters to win favor.
And of course, there was John McCain the family man. Along with his beloved wife Cindy, he fiercely protected the privacy of their seven children. All of the McCain offspring except the fiercely political Meghan wanted nothing to do with being in the public eye.
Love him or hate him — and most all of us hated his politics sometimes — he made a mark in history the size of a battleship.
Well done, sir. Take your perfect rest, your perfect peace.
A 2016 Twitter photo from John McCain’s wife Cindy at the wedding of son Jimmy McCain where all seven children are pictured in this incredibly diverse and military-loving family.
I don’t vote, I hate war (and am slow to honor war memorials etc… I might be the least patriotic person you know), and I disagreed with McCain on a handful of important items… BUT…
When I lived in AZ, he was my Senate rep. I remember a friend urging me to vote for Obama, and when I asked him why… he gave me a handful of very good reasons, but I pointed out to him that everyone of them could equally be said of McCain.
I never knew McCain to champion Christ, but as a politician, he gave me cause for pause. A man of flexible principles, and principled about it too. He achieved inspirational status over and over again. A man of fortitude, uncommon valor, a hero’s hero.
I cant recall ever weeping for a dead politician before, but I weep for this one. I miss him. The world feels more fragile without him. I think his influence runs deep below the surface, and I hope America taps into it.
He faced atrocity and hardship with confidence. He didn’t take attacks or loss personally. There is a lot there to admire and a lot there we all need more of individually and corporately.
God bless you,
John McCain
Thanx for representing me… I was not worthy.
I am sad now…
It’s a sad day. I had a lot a problems with his hawkishness, but his son was a war vet and he knew the cost of war. He did write about his faith in his books but his faith was very personal and precious to him. At bottom, nobody can deny his fundamental decency and humanity.
I disagreed with him frequently but he was ethical, something missing these days. I’ll never forget how he stood up for Obama on the campaign trail and would not let some woman continue making racist remarks!
That was his common decency and humanity that (most) shining through. If you watch that videos the people didn’t like his talking nice about his opponent but he kept up the nice before moving on to somebody else.