ARE NOT LAWYERS, TO FOLLOW. BUT THE THREE OF YOU HAVE MADE
IT A LOT MORE UNDERSTANDABLE.
>>> OTHER BREAKING NEWS, SENATOR
JOHN McCAIN IS ENDING HIS
TREATMENT FOR BRAIN CANCER.
HIS WIFE TWEETED, I LOVE MY
HUSBAND WITH ALL MY HEART, GOD
BLESS EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED
MY HUSBAND IN HIS JOURNEY.
FELLOW VIETNAM VETERAN JOHN
KERRY, A DEMOCRAT WHO SERVED
WITH McCAIN IN THE SENATE,
CALLED McCAIN A BRAVE MAN,
SHOWING US ONCE AGAIN WHAT THE
WORDS GRACE AND GRIT REALLY
MEAN.
MEAN. CHUCK SCHUMER AND SHELDON
WHITEHOUSE OF RHODE ISLAND BOTH
PUT OUT STATEMENTS, KEEPING THE
SENATOR AND HIS FAMILY IN THEIR
THOUGHTS.
THOUGHTS. PAUL RYAN TWEETED JOHN McCAIN
PERSONIFIES SERVICE TO OUR
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. THESE ARE A FEW AND NOT LIKELY
THE LAST OF A GROWING LIST OF
THOUGHTS OF PRAYERS AND COMFORT
BEING SENT TO THE McCAIN FAMILY
FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE,
THANKING A MAN WHO HAS SPENT HIS
LIFE IN THE SERVICE OF HIS
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. JOINING ME NOW, BILL KRISTOL,
FOUNDER AND EDITOR AT LARGE OF
"THE WEEKLY STANDARD."
BILL, LOOK, YOU KNOW, KELLY
O’DONNELL POINTED OUT EARLIER,
McCAIN HAD A LOT OF POLITICAL
ENEMIES.
ENEMIES. HE HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN A HERO TO
EVERYBODY.
EVERYBODY. AND THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE
WHO SAY, YEAH, SOMETIMES HE DID
SEE WHICH WAY THE WIND WAS
BLOWING OR DO THINGS THAT WERE
POLITICALLY EXPEDIENT.
POLITICALLY EXPEDIENT. BUT TAKEN AS A WHOLE, THIS MAN
HAS BEEN A MAN WHO EXEMPLIFIES
SERVICE TO ONE’S COUNTRY IN ALL
OF THE TRADITIONAL WAYS ONE
THINKS OF SERVICE TO THEIR
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. >> YEAH, NO, ABSOLUTELY.
I’VE BEEN A POLITICAL ALLY OF
HIS, BUT IT’S REALLY BEYOND
POLITICS TODAY.
POLITICS TODAY. HE KNEW THIS WAS COMING,
OBVIOUSLY, FOR THE LAST YEAR,
BUT IT’S STILL A BLOW WHEN YOU
HEAR THE STATEMENT AND THINK
ABOUT ITS IMPLICATIONS.
I WAS THINK ABOUT IT AND
WATCHING THE SHOW, TALKING ABOUT
DONALD TRUMP, "THE NATIONAL
INQUIRER," MICHAEL COHEN, AND I
THOUGHT, IN A WAY IT’S A SHAME
TO HAVE TO PIVOT FROM THAT TO
DISCUSS A MAN OF CHARACTER AND
COURAGE AND HONOR AND SOMEONE I
ADMIRE SO MUCH BUT IN A WAY IT’S
NOT SO BAD TO HAVE THE CONTRAST.
YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE REST OF
THE NEWS AND THINK, WHAT HAVE
OUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS COME TO,
ARE THERE ANY STANDARDS OF
DIGNITY, OF HONOR, OF BEHAVIOR.
>> AND THEN YOU LOOK AT THIS
MAN.
MAN. >> AND THEN YOU LOOK AT THIS
MAN.
MAN. MAYBE IT’S A GOOD CONTRAST,
ACTUALLY.
ACTUALLY. >> HE’S OF ADVANCED AGE, HE’S
GIVEN A LOT OF SERVICE TO HIS
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. BUT THE IMPLICATIONS, AS YOU
SAID, HE HAS STOOD THERE AS AN
EXAMPLE FOR AMERICANS TO LOOK AT
AND IN PARTICULAR FOR
REPUBLICANS TO LOOK AT TO SAY,
LOOK, HE HAS CHOSEN IN SOME
CASES TO WALK HIS OWN PATH
AGAINST THE WILL OF OTHER
MEMBERS OF HIS PARTY AND IN MANY
CASES AGAINST THE WILL OF THIS
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. >> AND THE EXAMPLE STANDS.
IT’S FUNNY, KELLY WAS TALKING
ABOUT THE OCCASIONAL COMPROMISES
OF JOHN McCAIN.
HE HIMSELF THEN DENOUNCED
HIMSELF OR ACKNOWLEDGED THE
MISTAKES HE MADE, THE
COMPROMISES HE MADE UNDER
PRESSURE, THAT HE FELT HE
SHOULDN’T HAVE.
SHOULDN’T HAVE. THEY WERE VERY MINOR, GOD KNOWS,
IN THE GENERAL SCHEME OF THINGS
AMONG POLITICIANS AND AMONG
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. HE’S LIVED AN HONORABLE,
IMPRESSIVE, AND ADMIRABLE LIFE.
YES, MAYBE THAT EXAMPLE WILL
REMIND ALL PEOPLE IN PUBLIC AND
PRIVATE LIFE OF CERTAIN
STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOR THAT THEY
SHOULD HOLD THEMSELVES TOO.
HE’S SUCH A PATRIOT, SUCH A
ROMANTIC, AS MARK SALTER, HIS
LONG TIME COLLEAGUE PUT IT, A
ROMANTIC ABOUT AMERICA AND A
HIGHER VIEW OF WHAT AMERICA IS.
MAYBE THAT WOULD BE NOT A BAD
THING FOR PEOPLE TO REFLECT ON
TODAY AND IN THE COMING DAYS.
>> JOHN McCAIN IS STILL WITH US
AND I SOMETIMES THINK THOSE ARE
THE BEST MOMENTS TO REFLECT,
THESE ARE THE MOMENTS TO GO DOWN
WHAT I CALL AN INTERNET JOHN
McCAIN RABBIT HOLE, TO STUDY HIS
LIFE.
LIFE. THERE HAVE BEEN MOMENTS HE’S
BEEN LESS PROUD OF AND FAILURES
IN HIS LIFE THAT HE WOULD BE THE
FIRST TO ADMIT.
AGAIN, TAKEN AS A WHOLE, HIS
LIFE TO THE COUNTRY, IF PRISON,