SACRIFICE OF THIS AMERICAN HERO. GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO THIS
MSNBC SPECIAL EVENT, REMEMBERING
THE LIFE OF JOHN McCAIN.
IT IS MY HONOR AND THAT OF MY
COLLEGES TO
COLLEGES TO COLLEAGUES TO HONOR THIS FIGURE.
THIS IS A STATEMENT, THE LIST OF
THOSE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE
TODAY WAS DRAWN UP BY JOHN
McCAIN HIMSELF.
McCAIN HIMSELF. IT’S OBVIOUS MESSAGE IS
COMMUNION.
COMMUNION. AND THOSE WITH WHOM HE DIFFERED.
OUR COMMON FAITH AND OUR
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT.
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT. FOR THAT GRAUM HAS EARNED THE
TRIBUTE.
TRIBUTE. HE HAS BEEN ESCORTED EVERY STAPE
OF THE WAY BY MEN IN UNIFORM.
AND THE PLANE WITH THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA ON IT’S SIDE.
AND THE CAPITAL THAT IS THE
CENTER OF THIS CITY.
THIS MAN LIKE THOSE HAVE THAT
COME BEFORE IS TODAY THE CENTER
OF OUR FOCUS.
THERE HAVE BEEN MANY DAYS WHEN
THE SPIRIT OF OUR REPUBLIC HAS
FALLEN SHORT.
FALLEN SHORT. THIS MORNING JOHN McCAIN WILL
DEPART THE CAPITAL STOPPING
ALONG THE WAY FOR HIS FAMILY TO
PAY TRIBUTE AT THE VIETNAM
VETERAN’S MEMORIAL.
VETERAN’S MEMORIAL. FROM THERE IT IS ON TO THE
NATIONAL KA AHEAD TO REALLY FOR
HIS FUNERAL.
HIS FUNERAL. >> THOSE OF US THAT HAVE KNOWN
JOHN McCAIN INTERVIEWED HIM AND
REPORTS ON HIM OVER THE YEARS
WILL BE WITH HIM AND YOU EVERY
STEP OF THE WAY THIS MORNING.
WE BEGIN OUR NEWS WITH KACIE
HUNT, IT IS SO GREAT TO BE WITH
YOU THIS MORNING, I THINK WE’RE
ALL SO PROUD TO BE HERE.
>> CHRIS, ABSOLUTELY WE ARE
PROUD TO BE HERE.
AND I DID COVER HIM FOR A DEAD
ACHE HERE AT THE UNITED STATES
SENATE, IT IS NOT A
OVERSTATEMENT TO SAY THAT THIS
PLACE WILL SIMPLY NEVER BE THE
SAME AGAIN WITHOUT HIM HERE.
HE WAS, AND SOME PEOPLE HAVE
SHARED THEIR REMEMBRANCES, AND
FOR US IN PARTICULAR, HE LOVED
TALKING AND YUCKING IT UP WITH
THE REPORTERS IN THE HALLWAYS,
ON CAMPAIGN PLANES, AND HE
REALLY BELIEVED IN THE ROLE OF
THE PRESS IN OUR GREAT
DEMOCRACY.
DEMOCRACY. SO HE HAD HIS OFFICE HERE AT THE
CAPITAL FOR MANY YEARS, NOT TOO
FAR FROM THE CRAM RASOME RA CAME
WOULD BROADCAST.
WOULD BROADCAST. HE WOULD USUALLY MAKE FUN OF YOU
AND THEN GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO
ASK YOUR QUESTION AND HE WOULD
TRY TO GIVE YOU AN HONEST
ANSWER.
ANSWER. AND THE EVENTS THAT HE LAID OUT
FOR HIMSELF IS JUST REALLY
STUNNING WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT
THE SYMBOLISM.
THE SYMBOLISM. AND THE STATEMENT HE IS MARKINGK
THE BIG STATEMENT ABOUT THE
VALUES, HOW THEY STAND IN
CONTRAST TO WHAT FEELS, MANY
DAYS, LIKE THE SMALL HIS FINAL
MESSAGE IS TRYING TO SHOW WHAT
ALL OF US BELIEVED THE GREATNESS
OF AMERICA COULD BE.
IN JUST A FEW MINUTES THE FAMILY
IS GOING TO ARRIVE HERE.
YOU HIS CASKET COME DOWN HERE.
STARTED POURING RAIN YESTERDAY
AS HE ENTERED INTO THE CAPITOL
AHEAD OF THAT CEREMONY.
HE HAS BEEN LYING IN STATE EVER
SINCE.
SINCE. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO CAME
TO SEE HIM AND PAY THEIR
RESPECTS.
RESPECTS. IT WAS A BREAK FROM PROTOCOL
THAT MADE THEIR OWN STATEMENT.
>> HE ASKED CHUCK SCHUMER TO
JOIN SENATOR McCONNELL.
THEY DID IT TOGETHER, AND THEN
AFTER THAT, THE SPEAKER CALLED
AND INVITED NANCY PELOSI TO JOIN
HIM IN PLACING A WREATH FROM THE
BIPARTISAN GROUPS, SOMETHING
THAT WE HAVE NOT SEEN VERY MUCH
OF.
OF. JOHN McCAIN WAS THE KIND OF
LEADER THAT COULD BUILD
RELATIONSHIPS ACROSS PARTY
LINES.
LINES. >>> YOU HAD THAT GREAT GIVE AND
TAKE OF TRYING TO GET
INFORMATION.
INFORMATION. HE IS NOW THE 31st PERSON TO LIE
IN STATE.
IN STATE. JOINING ME RIGHT NOW FROM THE
NATIONAL NALAL KACATHEDRAL IS AN
MITCHELL.
MITCHELL. EACH OF YOU TAKE A MOMENT TO
TALK ABOUT CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY
THIS IS SUCH A BIG DEAL TO OUR
REPUBLIC THIS DAY.
>> FIRST OF ALL, IT IS SO
SIGNIFICANT THAT JOHN McCAIN
FEELS LIKE HE IS THE LAST OF A
CERTAIN BREED OF SENATORS, IF
YOU WILL, WHOM I COVERED IN THE
80s AND 90s ON THE HILL THAT
WORKED TOGETHER.
WORKED TOGETHER. AND JOE BIDEN REFERENCED THAT
WHEN HE SAID YOU COULD SIT NEXT
TO EACH OTHER, EVEN THOUGH THEY
WERE FROM OPPOSITE POLITICAL
PARTIES, THEY WOULD SIT NEXT TO
EACH OTHER.
EACH OTHER. AND THEY WOULD NOT REALLY BE
LISTENING TO DEPATES ON A
TUESDAY, THEY WOULD BREAK FOR
THEIR TUESDAY LAUNCHWN LUNCHES W
JOE BIDEN AND JOHN McCAIN WERE
REBUKED BY PARTY LEADERS FOR
BEING SEEN HITTING AND CHATTING.
AND THAT WAS THE MOMENT THAT JOE
BIDEN RECALLED THAT HE AND HIS
FELLOW SENATOR STARTED TO FEEL
IT WAS ALL CHANGING.
THAT IS THE TIME IN THE MID 90s
WHEN THE GREAT MEN AND WOMEN
THAT I REMEMBER STEPPED DOWN AND
DECIDED NOT TO RUN AGAIN IN BOTH
POLITICAL PARTIES.
POLITICAL PARTIES. WE LOST SO MUCH OF THAT CULTURE
AND JOHN McCAIN SEEMS NOW SO
UNIQUE AND IRREPLACEABLE.
ARGUING AGAINST TORTURE, AND
FELLOW P.O.W.s FROM HANOI, HE
LOST FRIENDS FOR AWHILE FOR
STANDING UP TO CHANGE THE LAWS
THAT WERE CHANGED TO GO UP
AGAINST PRESIDENT BUSH AND
OTHERS AND THE ADMINISTRATION IN
THE IRAQ WAR.
THERE ARE SO MANY MOMENTS ALONG
THE WAY GOING WITH CAM CAMPAIGN
FINANCE.
FINANCE. THAT IS WHAT IS SOL SIGNIFICANT
ABOUT THE TRIBUTES TODAY.
THE PAULEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE
SERVICE, IT IS FOR THOSE THAT
THEY FOUGHT FOR AND SOUGHT.
AND FOR THEM TO REACH OUT TO
BARACK OBAMA AND GEORGE W. BUSH
IS SO SIGNIFICANT.
I THINK MOST NOTABLY THE SOUTH
CAROLINA PRIMARY, WHAT ENDED HIS
HOPING IN 2000 AFTER THE
SUCCESSION, IT WAS A BITTER AND
DIVISIVE PRIMARY WITH TERRIBLE
HATE AND INNUENDOS, FALSE
ACCUSATIONS THAT WERE SO
CRUSHING TO HIM, HIS FAMILY, AND
HIS ADOPTED DAUGHTER, BRIDGET
WHO LATER YEARS READ BACK AND
DISCOVERED ON GOOGLE WHAT WAS
SAID ABOUT HER FATHER AND
HERSELF.
HERSELF. SO FOR HIM TO REACH OUT TO THE
PUSH PEOPLE AGAIN TODAY IS ALSO
TO SAY LET’S THINK ABOUT A
BETTER POLITICAL FUTURE FOR ALL
OF US AND IT IS A REBUKE TO THE
MAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
>> SO WELL SAID.
WE ARE WATCHING THE FAMILY AND
THE CHILDREN OF JOHN McCAIN
COMING INTO THE CAPITOL THERE.
JOHN, I THINK IT IS SO POWERFUL,
BECAUSE HE SUFFERED SO MUCH FOR
THE FIVE-AND-A-HALF YEARS IN A
HANOI PRISON, AND HE INVITED
SOMEONE LIKE WARREN BEATTY, HOLD
ONLY, WE’RE GOING TO WATCH THE
CASKET COME INTO THE U.S.
CAPITOL.
CAPITOL. COME OUT OF THE CAPITOL.
[ SILENCE ]
>>> LET’S BRING IN JOHN MECHUM
AS WE WATCH THE CASKET BEING
BROUGHT DOWN.
BROUGHT DOWN. YOU NEVER KNOW, WATCHING
HISTORY, WHEN THINGS COME,
YOU’RE NOT READY FOR HOW BIG
THEY ARE.
THEY ARE. I THINK WE’RE ALL STRUCK BY THE
POWER OF THIS LOSS.
>> IT IS A SACRED HOUR FOR A
HAND WHO GAVE HIS ALL TO
PRESERVING OUR JOURNEY TOWARD A
MORE PERFECT UNION.
HE WAS A PERFECT MAN WHO KEPT US
MOVING GUARD HIGHER GROUND, AND
TODAY BY HIS CONSCIOUS DESIGN,
IS AN EXTRAORDINARY EMBODIMENT
NOT OF THE FACT THAT WE SHOULD
ALWAYS AGREE OR THAT THERE IS A
MYTHICAL CENTRISM IN THE
AMERICAN SPIRIT, BECAUSE THERE’S
NOT.
NOT. WE FOUGHT FROM LOYALISTS VERSUS
REVOLUTIONARIES, FEDERALISTS AND
ANTIFEDERALISTS.
ANTIFEDERALISTS. NORTH AND SOUTH.
INTERVENTIONISTS AND
INTERVENTIONISTS AND ISOLATIONISTS.
ISOLATIONISTS. WE HAVE FOUGHT AND FOUGHT, BUT
AT OUR BEST, AND JOHN McCAIN
UNDERSTOOD THIS, WE HAD TO BE
ONE GREAT FAMILY.
ONE OF THE STATUES THAT SENATOR
McCAIN SPENT LAST NIGHT UNDER
THE GAZE OF, WAS ANDREW JACKSON.
AND BELIEVE ME, THEY HAD A GOOD
BIT IN COMMON INCLUDING A
TEMPER, BUT HE SAID THAT WE WERE
ONE GREAT FAMILY.
ANOTHER STATUTE WAS GERALD FORD
THAT PUT US BACK TOGETHER AFTER
A VERY DIVISIVE CRISIS.
ANOTHER WAS RONALD REAGAN WHO
RESPECTED, LIKE McCAIN, SOMEONE
THAT WENT WEST AND FOUND JOY AND
BROUGHT THAT JOY BACK TO THE
COUNTRY ITSELF.
COUNTRY ITSELF. .
. SO IT IS A SACRED HOUR, A
JOURNEY THAT WILL MOVE FROM THAT
ROW TUNDRA
ROW TUNDRA ROTUNDRA, HE WILL BE BROUGHT ON
THE GROUND, THE THEATER
ROOSEVELT, TO BUILD THIS LUMT TO
BOTH FAITH AND TO UNITY.
AND ON THAT DAY, WHEN THEODORE
ROOSEVELT, THE THEATER OF
McCAIN, HE WROTE TO THE GENERALP
OF OUR TIME AND ANY OTHER TIME,
HE IS A DOER OF THE WORD AS JOHN
McCAIN WAS.
McCAIN WAS. >> STEVE SCHMIDT, I WANT TO
BRING YOU IN HERE AND PAY
ATTENTION TO THE FAMILY HERE.
MEGHAN IN CRYING, AND WE DON’T
HAVE STEVE YET, LOOK AT THE
FAMILY HERE.
FAMILY HERE. THIS IS A HUMAN BEING, I WANT TO
BRING YOU IN, ANOTHER YOUNG
PERSON HERE.
PERSON HERE. WE HAVE WATCHED JAUMP IN HERE.
THE WAY HE WAS DESTROYED IN
SCARE, WE HAVE ALL BEEN IN THESE
CHAPTERS.
CHAPTERS. AS A MODERATE REPUBLICAN, AND
YOU HAVE SEEN THIS GUY TAKE THE
TURMOIL AND PAY THE PRICE OF
BEING IN POLITICS.
>> HE DID, AND WHAT IS
INTERESTING ABOUT THE PARALLELS
BETWEEN HIS LIFE AS BEING A
SAILOR, A SOLDIER, AND SOMEONE
THAT HAS BEEN IN HARM’S WAY, IN
A CAMP WHERE HE WAS TORTURES,
AND THE TORTUREOUS PATH OF
POLITICS.
POLITICS. IT IS PART OF WHAT FORMED HIM.
HI SHARED THAT WITH US
PARTICULARLY IN HIS LATER YEARS
MANY RETRIED TO SEE.
HE TRIED TO KEEP IT REAL FOR
REAL PEOPLE IN SO MANY WAYS,
CHRIS.
CHRIS. IT WAS DIFFICULT IN POLITICS
BECAUSE HE WATCHED AS POLITICS
RETREATED TO THE CORNERS AND THE
EDGES, IT WAS NO LONGER IN THE
CENTER RING WHERE THEY WOULD
DUKE IT OUT.
THEY WOULD GO AT IT OVER A BILL
AND FIGHT IT OUT, THAT’S WHY HE
CALLED FOR REGULAR ORDER FROM
ONE OF HIS LAST GREAT SPEECHES
FROM THE SENATE FLOOR, TO REMIND
MEMBERS WHAT IS THEIR PURPOSE.
YES, THIS IS TOUGH AND HARD.
TORTURE IS HARD BUT I ENDURED
IT.
IT. POLITICS IS HARD BUT WE WILL
ENDURE IT TOGETHER.
I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT
HAS BEEN LOST ON A LOT OF THE
MEMBERS.
MEMBERS. >> WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE
TEST LIST TODAY, MICHAEL, WHEN
YOU SAW WARREN BEATTY WHO WAS
SUCH A SYMBOL OF HOLLYWOOD
ANTI-WAR POLITICS.
ANTI-WAR POLITICS. THEM BEING INVITED TO SPEAK, TO
BE PALLBARERS, WHAT DID YOU
THINK OF THAT?
>> I THINK AGAIN JOHN McCAIN IS
FORCING THE COUNTRY AND HIS
COLLEAGUES TO TAKE NOTICE OF
WHAT HIS LIFE’S WORK WAS ABOUT.
IT WAS NOT ABOUT ISOLATING
POLITICS, IT WAS ABOUT REACHING
ACROSS AND HAVING PEOPLE SHARE
IN THE MOMENT.
HE TURNED A LOT OF IT OVER TO
POLITICAL RIVALS.
POLITICAL RIVALS. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE
NOT SEEN.
NOT SEEN. YOU HEARD ANDREA AND OTHERS TALK
ABOUT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH TED
KENNEDY, AND THEY WOULD -- THEY
WERE TOLD THEY COULD NOT SIT
NEXT TO EACH OTHER, AND PEOPLE
ARE STARTING TO TALK, YOU’RE
SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME ON THE