John McCain was as close as America has come in recent times to a genuine political hero, one whose character, integrity and honesty stood head and shoulders above the rest of the field. At a time when those traits increasingly are lacking among this nation’s elected officials, his death at 81 is an even greater loss.
The Post enthusiastically endorsed him both times he ran for president: for the GOP nomination in 2000 and all the way to Election Day in 2008. We did so because of his battle-tested courage, unshakable devotion to principle and clear grasp of the dangers and opportunities facing America. He told uncomfortable truths the nation needed to hear.
The story of his experience as a POW in North Vietnam remains both gripping and inspiring: The son and grandson of Navy admirals, he volunteered for a combat assignment as a pilot. Shot down on his 23rd bombing run, he was imprisoned in the notorious “Hanoi Hilton.”
Because his father was commander of the US Pacific Fleet, he was offered immediate release but refused; the result was 5 ½ years (two of them in solitary confinement) of relentless torture that left him with physical impairments for the rest of his life.
This undeniable heroism and personal sacrifice made him an inspiring figure to millions, yet he never traded on that identity for political gain. But it did help forge a sense of purpose and devotion to honesty that turned him into one of the most respected voices on Capitol Hill.
It also made him a maverick, willing to exasperate others in his party by embracing positions they considered wrongheaded. As his former colleague Joe Lieberman once said: “God only made one John McCain, and he is his own man.”
Indeed, many Republicans groused that he was the news media’s favorite Republican — at least until 2008, when he stood in Barack Obama’s way, and many who’d long sung his praises instead savaged him mercilessly.
Yet his independence was part of McCain’s charm, along with his fearless candor: He just didn’t sound like a politician.
He was warning of the danger of Vladimir Putin’s Russia long before the rest of Washington understood it. When President George W. Bush said he had looked into Putin’s eyes and “saw his soul,” McCain quipped that he’d done the same thing and seen “three letters: K, G, B.”
And when the American public had grown weary of the war in Iraq — which he had first supported and then became one of the first Republicans to criticize — he continued to advocate for a forceful US military presence and response to growing threats. He strongly supported the unpopular 2007 surge in Iraq even as he was gearing up to run for president.
For all his occasional apostasy, McCain was a traditional conservative. But he was a strong believer in bipartisan government, which he made the watchwords of his 35 years on Capitol Hill.
Though he never achieved the presidency, John McCain (in the words of Sen. Chris Coons) “blazed an arc across the firmament of American history that will be rivaled, but rarely matched.” His record of character, heroism and honesty in public life stands as perhaps his greatest gift to the nation he loved. RIP.
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