John McCain has passed away just one day after announcing he’d no longer be seeking treatment for his brain cancer. I’m glad he’s no longer in pain. I wish his family peace and strength in this time.
I vehemently disagreed with his politics but I had enormous respect for many of the decisions he made. Regardless of what some say, he was a war hero who was tortured and permanently scarred for his country. I have no doubt that he had a deep love of America and that is commendable.
Wow, that was indeed fast after the announcement. Our friends lost their daughter to this tumor. Being told that there was nothing more to be done was so painful for them. I’m sure McCain’s family felt the same way.
I didn’t agree with all of this politics, but I did appreciate that he didn’t hesitate to call out members of his own party when he disagreed with them. We need more of that.
I met him a few times. A real war hero for what he endured in Hanoi. He refused a chance to go home early. His captors knew his father was an admiral and offered it to him because if that.
I still remember hearing his concession speech after his loss to Pres. Obama and thinking how much class he displayed. And that while I may have often disagreed with him , I never doubted his devotion to service and love for our country.
Rest In Peace Senator McCain.
He also was very classy during his campaign and refused to encourage his supporters who hatefully criticized Obama.
"A woman came up to McCain at a rally and said, “I can’t trust Obama. I have read about him, and he’s not, he’s not — he’s an Arab.” Her comment prompted McCain to immediately shake his head and take the microphone from her.
“No ma’am,” McCain said. “He’s a decent family man, a citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that’s what this campaign is all about.”
McCain continued to defend Obama during the event even as his supporters voiced their surprise in the background.
“He is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as President,” McCain said. “If I didn’t think I’d be one heck of a better President I wouldn’t be running, and that’s the point. I admire Sen. Obama and his accomplishments, I will respect him. I want everyone to be respectful, and let’s make sure we are. Because that’s the way politics should be conducted in America.”
I had a tremendous amount of respect for him. He was a fighter until the end … my coworker was in his 40’s, so much younger than Senator McCain, and had the same kind of tumor. He went to the ER with a horrible headache on Memorial Day weekend last year & never returned to work. He fought like heck but was gone by Halloween. The fact that the Senator did so well for so long is a testament to the man’s strength.
Our country will miss his honor and class. There have been so many nice tributes on Twitter. My favorite may be Eric Holder’s one word tweet - Hero.
If you have a chance to see the HBO documentary that came out earlier this year on him, For Whom the Bell Tolls, it is well worth your time. It highlighted for me just how much I could respect someone from the other party - he sponsored some important legislation that was good for all of us and he valued our role in the world as a compass for human rights.
He evidently had the chance to plan for his funeral and I have read this evening that both Presidents Bush (43) and Obama will be eulogizing him.
Just read that his friend Ted Kennedy, with whom he worked on ultimately unsuccessful bipartisan legislation to allow a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, died of the same form of cancer and on the same date.
Farewell to a true patriot whose life was led with dignity and honor, two qualities that seem to be in short supply today.