RIP John McCain

Maverick, conservative, foreign policy hawk. Politician from the times (though I am not sure if those really existed) when politics was more civilized. What was Senator John McCain’s political star hour (2000 campaign?) and what about his most problematic decision (Sarah Palin?) and what those things say us about his political legacy? Read few comments.

John McCain (1936 – 2018)

David Barker, Director, Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, Professor of Government, American University

I think you nailed it. McCain’s star turns were in 2000, when he surprised everyone with an 18-point victory in New Hampshire that turned that nomination campaign upside down. He developed a reputation that year for telling it straight, even if he did not always follow his own advice (as he later admitted). He ultimately lost because of very dark tactics employed in South Carolina by outside groups supporting Bush (calling people and suggesting that McCain’s adopted Bangladeshi daughter was in fact an illegitimate black child), which only cemented his reputation.

Of course, he had already established himself as an American icon for enduring several years of torture in Vietnam, when he had the opportunity to be released given his father’s military status. McCain refused to leave before any of his fellow POWs, establishing his reputation (which later helped him tremendously in politics).

His other star turn was of course in 2008, when he came back from the single digits to capture the GOP nomination. And had the economy not been in free-fall by the time the election came around (for which the public blamed the Republican administration), he might have had a chance to win that contest. His refusal in that campaign to question Obama’s religion or citizenship, when he was being pressed to do so, were admirable, as was his public scolding of a supporter who did so at one of his town halls.

His weaker public moments were Palin, as you mentioned, and his extreme hawkishness with respect to the War in Iraq. He continues to this day to believe that the problem with Iraq is that we weren’t hawkish enough. He also displayed some pettiness toward Obama in the first administration that was not becoming.

Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha, Professor and Chair of Political Science, University of North Texas

I think you’ve hit many of the main points. John McCain will be remembered as a Maverick Senator who took positions often in line with clear principles (not politics). When he was most principled (opposing tax cuts, supporting the surge), he was at his strongest. When he acted politically (say, by picking Sarah Palin), he struggled.

In many ways, his story is much more than a Senator and a presidential candidate.  He was a prisoner of war, the wounds from which he carried his entire life. I know that very, very few human beings can understand what it must have been like for John McCain during and after his captivity. That he not only survived that ordeal, but also persevered as he had is simply remarkable.

Steffen Schmidt, Lucken Endowed Professor of Political Science, Iowa State University

Senator McCain has always taken an independent position on every political decision.

His biggest mistake clearly was listening to a group of Republican “intellectuals” who have never run for or held office who were on a cruise ship to Alaska. They met Governor Sara Palin, were love struck by her “bubbly” personality and suggested he choose her as his running mate in the presidential race of 2008. We know from his own statement recently that he wishes he had chosen a serious person.

Another sad mistake was his choice of assistants who represented dictators such as Zaire’s Joseph Mobutu and Ukrainian billionaires with questionable backgrounds as well as the dictators of Burma. McCain also showed signs of anti Islamic sentiment especially in his relations to Ohio preacher Rod Parsley his “spiritual guide” and Texas preacher John Hager who blamed hurricane Katrina on New Orleans’s liberal attitude about gays.

I personally think his finest moment was when he was a prisoner of war and tortured on North Vietnam and the commander of the prison offered to release him because McCains father was a prominent admiral in the US Navy. McCain said no because the rule was that prisoners would be released in the order in which they were captured and an American prisoner Everett Alvarez was the first captured. I cannot imagine the personal moral discipline and honor that it took to do this.

Another great moment was in 2017 when the Senate was voting to repeal portions of Obama Care the healthcare law. The voting had reached its climax and it could either pass as the Republican majority wanted or fail. There was tension in the air as McCain walked up to the front of the Senate chamber, paused briefly, and then dramatically turned his thumb down in a “Roman” gesture and said “NO!”  There was a shock in the Senate as the measure failed because McCain felt the repeal fell short of the promises Republicans had made. He defied the top leaders of his own party, another example of his independence and “maverick” style of leadership.

Steven Greene, Professor of Political Science, North Carolina State University

John McCain was a complicated politician with a complicated legacy. He may never have been quite as much of a “maverick” as his many fans (including many journalists who admired the “straight talk” he provided more so than other politicians) make him out to be. But, he was willing to take stands outside his party and listen to his conscience on important votes. For the most part, he was a surprisingly doctrinaire conservative Republican, but in a climate where almost everybody toes the party line on almost everything, his willingness to break that on high-profile issues– most recently a major health care vote– do demonstrate that McCain was very much his own man.

Personally, I will always appreciate his deep humanity, willingness to work across party lines, and commitment to public service. With his presumed soon-to-be passing from the political stage, he really does represent a bygone era of more collegial, openness to bipartisanship, approach that is increasingly rare in Washington. I particularly remember in 2008 when he challenged one of his own supporters at a rally and explained that Barack Obama was a good man who loved America, and that they just had disagreements over what was best for the country. Fair to say, though, that selecting Palin as his running mate in 2008 was a low point.  But, McCain has always loved his “maverick” brand and I think, in this case, it led him astray by doing the “maverick”, unconventional thing, and not thinking the pick through thoroughly enough.