Wednesday, May 9, 2018

McCain

McCain’s Funeral Guest List Doesn’t Define Him. By Jim Geraghty
Excerpt: Charlie Kirk, responding to a report that Senator John McCain, battling brain cancer, does not want President Trump to attend his funeral: “He wants Obama there. That tells you everything you need to know about McCain.” Really? You think everything you need to know about a man’s 81 years on this earth can be nullified or reaffirmed by your approval of his guest list at his funeral? Twenty-three years of military service, 23 bombing missions, a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, a Distinguished Flying Cross, five and a half years as a prisoner of war, solitary confinement for two years, two to three beatings a week, repatriation refused, two terms in the U.S. House, six terms in the Senate, nearly 800 pieces of legislation introduced, thousands of votes, six books, hundreds of speeches, two presidential campaigns, two spouses, seven children . . . and you think “everything you need to know about McCain” is whether he shares your view of the president? Having said that, there is an aspect of the current McCain coverage that is sticking in my craw. At some point, John McCain will pass away into the arms of his Creator, and he will receive a lot of well-earned praise and fond farewells, particularly from political figures and those who covered him for the past three decades or so. I wouldn’t mind if those political figures and those who covered McCain took a moment to evaluate if they were fair to the man, particularly in the year 2008. Because maybe no national figure in the modern era flipped so quickly from the hero to the villain column in his media coverage and back, depending upon whether the majority of the mainstream media agreed with his stances or not.

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