John McCain was a complicated person. He left Carol, his first wife and their children, for the wealthier and much younger Cindy Hensley after Carol had waited for him during his unendurable imprisonment in Vietnam. He was also one of the Keating Five, but so was Democratic Senator John Glenn. To say that he was human is to relish on the obvious.
However, John McCain did rise to the occasion more than once, as when he defended Barack Obama while Sarah Palin was accusing Obama of palling with terrorists. This is not even to mention that McCain refused special treatment from his Vietnamese captors even though they had inflicted terrible things on him. Yet even this singular act of defiance against indecency can be construed by some to be a calculation by someone who anticipated to be released. Be that as it may, John McCain did stand as an important voice against the torture of prisoners in Guantanamo. Also, John McCain and Senator John Kerry, along with others, did work together to lift the US economic embargo against Vietnam. A country against both of whom had fought against.
Having said all this, John McCain still stands as a flawed man who dedicated his adult life to public service. He was a conservative and he pursued policies that were not always in the best interest of women, the poor, and minorities. But if the issue needs clarification it should be said that Donald Trump hated John McCain even in death.
It is instructive that Trump did not hate John McCain for his material wealth (which was substantial): Trump likely hated McCain because McCain was a real person, with real principles. In any case, it is clear that Trump’s hatred was sourced on his envy of McCain. Is it the case that my enemy’s enemy is my friend? Who knows, but McCain was also hated by Putin and his acolytes, so that speaks volumes on McCain’s behalf.
It is also telling that Paul Manafort, he who foisted Mike Pence on the Republican ticket made his fortune shilling for a Ukrainian, Putin-backed despot. In essence Manafort carried Putin’s water for years. Trump knew this (or should have known) which makes him complicit with the anti-democratic forces in Ukraine. Yet, who dared to stand up with the people of Ukraine? Who risked his personal safety in order to deliver a speech to thousands of Ukrainians? That would have been the flawed John McCain.
It is the man and his espoused principles–the common good ahead of personal ambition–that perhaps ought to be mourned. If the substance of John McCain was what he stood for, then he deserves to be remembered as a man of American values.