First, let me just say that I have absolutely no problem with admitting that I voted for John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. As I recall, I did not vote for him in the primary, but, living in Indiana, the primary is so late in the season that he may have been the only one on the ballot. I really do not recall. I believed he was the better of the two candidates that November, even with his Liberal leanings, and his choice as Sarah Palin was a solid conservative move to balance out the ticket.
McCain lost that election for two reasons. First, the failing economy was being placed squarely on George W. Bush's shoulders, and any Republican candidate was going to suffer at the polls as a consequence. (The same thing happened to George Sr. in the 1992 election.) Second, if I may be brutally honest, I'll say what most people in today's world won't: given the state of the Democrat party then (and now,) McCain lost that election because Barack Obama was black. Hillary was still Hillary, even back then, and the Dems recognized almost too late that she was virtually unelectable. Obama was a nobody no one had ever heard of, hopelessly ill-qualified for the position, but he was charismatic and hip -- everything Hillary wasn't -- and... he was black. The timing was right. So despite McCain's being obviously more qualified for the job, the election came down to a young, hip, black man vs. an old, crusty white guy. The young, hip, black man won.
If you check the stats, it is true that more minorities voted in 2008 than ever before, and it is also true that black voters voted almost exclusively for Obama, while traditionally they would only account for 70-80% or so of Democrat votes. But what is also true is that a significantly higher percentage of white men voted for Obama than they would have ordinarily voted for a white Democrat. And that percentage was even higher among white women. The reality is that many white people voted for Barack Obama in that election so they could prove to others they weren't racists. It made them feel good about themselves to say they voted for a black man. (Even though millions of those people would admit it openly at the time, and subsequently voted for Romney in 2012 after seeing how bad at the job Obama really was.)
That's not a racist opinion. It's the stats. The vote was clearly not based on qualifications for the job among the candidates, because Obama had done nothing at all in his minuscule political career (or his personal career, for that matter) to that point to warrant being President, and McCain was a seasoned political pro. Had the demographic stats held true from previous elections, McCain probably would have won, or at least would have lost by a much smaller margin. Had the economy been in better shape, he likely would have won regardless.
(As an aside: It's upsetting that in today's world, we cannot have a conversation about race without being labeled a racist. So while I shouldn't have to say this, I will: I would have no problem at all voting for a minority of any race, gender, or ethnicity if I believed they were qualified for the job. There are many such potential candidates I can think of today who I could support. My opposition to Obama had nothing to do with his race. It had to do with his liberalism and complete incompetence for the job.)
Nevertheless, I'm simply making a point that McCain was once serious presidential timber, and had the timing and circumstances been different, he might have stood a real chance at winning the Presidency. Alas, it was not to be.
But even then, McCain was beginning to show his liberal leanings, and as time went on, he strayed further and further into liberal ideology, all but abandoning most of his conservative views by the time his health forced him to essentially retire several months ago.
But let's back up. One thing cannot be disputed: The man was a bonafide military hero, worthy of all the respect that comes with those badges of honor. At his core, he was an A-1 stud, more brave and heroic than I could ever dream to be. Regardless of one's political leanings, anyone who is willing to put their life on the line and risk the ultimate sacrifice for my freedom deserves every ounce of respect and honor I can give him. As a prisoner of war, he endured torture the likes of which I cannot fathom, and which caused him lifelong disabilities. And he did it for me and for you, because he believed it was the right thing to do. We can never thank him enough.
But as is not uncommon, it is sometimes necessary to separate the personal and business lives, as it were. While his military service certainly likely influenced his political affiliations and decisions, it is not necessary to allow that service to cloud our assessments of his political career.
It can't be argued that he had what most would consider to be a successful political career, which began in 1982 and continued until his death some 36 years later. For the first half of that career, he held mostly to his initial conservative values. But following a bitter primary battle with George W. Bush for the Presidency in 2000, he emerged from the loss bitter about the divisiveness of modern politics. And thus began a spiral toward the left for the rest of his time in Washington.
He cloaked his bitterness as an attempt to "reach across the aisle" and "get along with the other side" and other such nonsense. What it really was was a slow abandoning of his conservative viewpoints. Each time he voted against his constituency, he claimed it was in an effort to compromise, and work together with Democrats. But compromises usually benefit both sides, whereas most of McCain's votes garnered nothing to enhance conservative ideals. They were simply votes for the opposition's agenda, and that trend only grew larger as time went on.
So what of it?
Well, it's interesting when we place it under the light of the Trump administration. To this day, the left and the media are still clueless not only to how Trump won his election, but of his enduring popularity among his base. The answer to it is stunningly simple: Trump was not a career politician, and so far, he has continued to keep his campaign promises to his constituents.
Ignoring, for a moment, that McCain should have hung up his cleats years ago, as no person should be in Washington for anywhere nearly approaching 30+ years, he had been slowly disenfranchising his voting constituency for at least the last 15 years. Trump won because there is a large mass of voters out there -- myself included -- who are simply tired of voting for someone who promises to do one thing and then goes to Washington and does the opposite. I got tired of voting for politicians who promised to go and fight for conservative ideals, then simply bent over for liberal agenda once they got to office. It was maddening. Trump promised to do different. And wasn't a lifelong politician. So I was willing to give him a shot.
This is essentially what John McCain had been doing for years, and why the voters of Arizona continued to allow him to get away with it for so long is beyond my guess. But it was happening nevertheless. In some cases, it appeared his votes were little more than an outright vendetta to oppose Trump. The Junior Senator Jeff Flake is doing the same thing. It is true that Arizona as a whole has grown more liberal over the years, and so it can be supposed that both McCain and Flake recognized that and reacted accordingly. But in the end, it simply is not cool to promise your voters one thing and then deliver the opposite.
And the Arizona voters are waking up. McCain wouldn't have gotten away with it much longer. Flake knew he couldn't and has chosen to jump ship instead. But I digress.
What is disappointing, and, quite frankly, a bit nauseating, is watching the left (at least the left we see on the news everyday) now, upon McCain's death, laud him as they are, applauding his military career, and making a fuss about the flag at the White House, when they have, in fact, disparaged his military service for years. They mocked what they called his "phony heroism" in 2008, as they belittle the military in general and the flag most every chance they get. But because he opposed Donald Trump (and most of the conservative agenda) they want to pretend he's their hero. It's pretty tough to watch. (To be fair, Trump's dig at McCain's war hero status was unfair, and way off base, but at least he's been consistent in his disdain for McCain over the years.)
But it is important to note that it is possible to separate his military heroism and his political career. They don't go hand in hand. And that's the difference between the liberal and conservative reactions to John McCain as they each reflect on his life and career. Whereas conservatives have always lauded and championed his military service, they still do so, even as he essentially switched his political affiliations somewhere along the way. Liberals, on the other hand, once disparaged his military service and disdained his political beliefs. It wasn't until he starting voting on their behalf and opposed Donald Trump that they began to portray him as a hero.
John McCain was a hero. But he also turned his back on the people in Arizona who voted for him. He rightly deserves our respect for putting his life on the line for our freedom. But he also deserves the criticism he has received for promising his voters he would uphold ideals he ultimately chose to abandon. In today's society, military service and political service to your country are not the same thing, especially when you consider what each receives as compensation for said service.
John McCain was an honorable military hero. He ultimately was a relatively poor politician.
