TO JOHN’S BELOVED FAMILY, MRS. McCAIN, TO CINDY AND THE McCAIN
CHILDREN, AND AS JOHN WOULD SAY,
MY FRIENDS.
MY FRIENDS. WE COME TO CELEBRATE AN
EXTRAORDINARY MAN.
EXTRAORDINARY MAN. A WARRIOR.
A WARRIOR. A STATESMAN.
A STATESMAN. A PATRIOT.
A PATRIOT. EMBODIED SO MUCH THAT HIS BEST
IN AMERICA.
IN AMERICA. PRESIDENT BUSH AND I ARE AMONG
THE FORTUNATE FEW WHO COMPETED
AGAINST JOHN AT THE HIGHEST
LEVELS OF POLITICS.
HE MADE US BETTER PRESIDENTS,
JUST AS HE MADE THE SENATE
BETTER.
BETTER. JUST AS HE MADE THIS COUNTRY
BETTER.
BETTER. SO FOR SOMEONE LIKE JOHN TO ASK
YOU WHILE HE’S STILL ALIVE TO
STAND AND SPEAK OF HIM WHEN HE’S
GONE IS A PRECIOUS AND SINGULAR
HONOR.
HONOR. WHEN JOHN CALLED ME WITH THAT
REQUEST EARLIER THIS YEAR, I’LL
ADMIT, SADNESS, AND ALSO A
CERTAIN SURPRISE.
CERTAIN SURPRISE. AFTER THE CONVERSATION ENDED, I
REALIZED HOW WELL IT CAPTURED
SOME OF JOHN’S ESSENTIAL
QUALITIES.
QUALITIES. TO START WITH, JOHN LIKED BEING
UNPREDICTABLE.
UNPREDICTABLE. EVEN LOAN CONTRARY OLYMPIAN.
HE HAD NO INTEREST IN CONFORMING
AND DIDN’T WANT A MEMORIAL THAT
WAS GOING TO BE PREPACKAGED
EITHER.
EITHER. ALSO SHOWED JOHN’S DISTANDAIN FO
SELF PITY.
SELF PITY. HE HAD BEEN TO HELL AND BACK AND
YET SOMEHOW NEVER LOST HIS
ENERGY OR HIS OPTIMISM FOR LIFE.
SO CANCER DID NOT SCARE HIM.
AND HE WOULD MAINTAIN THAT
BUOYANT SPIRIT TO THE VERY END.
TOO STUBBORN TO SIT STILL,
OPINIONATED AS EVER, FIERCELY
DEVOTED TO FRIENDS AND MOST OF
ALL TO HIS FAMILY.
IT SHOWED HIS SENSE OF HUMOR,
LITTLE BIT OF A MISWHAT BETTER W
TO GET A LAUGH THAN MAKE GEORGE
AND I SAY NICE THINGS ABOUT HIM
TO A NATIONAL AUDIENCE.
AND MOST OF ALL, IT SHOWED A
LARGENESS OF SPIRIT.
AN ABILITY TO SEE PAST
DIFFERENCES IN SEARCH OF COMMON
GROUND.
GROUND. AND IN FACT, ON THE SURFACE,
JOHN AND I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN
MORE DIFFERENT.
MORE DIFFERENT. WE’RE OF DIFFERENT GENERATIONS,
I CAME FROM A BROKEN HOME AND
NEVER KNEW MY FATHER.
JOHN WAS THE STEIN OF ONE OF
AMERICA’S MOST DISTINGUISHED
MILITARY FAMILIES.
MILITARY FAMILIES. I HAVE A REPUTATION FOR KEEPING
COOL.
COOL. JOHN NOT SO MUCH.
WE WERE STANDARD BEARERS OF
DIFFERENT POLITICAL TRADITIONS
AND THROUGHOUT MY PRESIDENCY SI,
JOHN NEVER HESITATED TO TELL ME
WHEN HE THOUGHT I WAS SCREWING
UP
UP UP, WHICH BY HIS CALCULATION WAS
ABOUT ONCE A DAY., BUT FOR ALL
OUR DIFFERENCES, FOR ALL THE
TIMES WE SPARKED.
I NEVER TRIED TO HIDE AND I
THINK JOHN CAME TO UNDERSTAND
THE LONG STANDING ADMIRATION
THAT I HAD FOR HIM.
BY HIS OWN ACCOUNT, JOHN WAS A
REBELLIOUS YOUNG MAN.
IN HIS CASE, THAT’S
UNDERSTANDABLE.
UNDERSTANDABLE. WHAT BETTER WAY TO DISTINGUISH
YOURSELF WHEN YOU’RE THE SON AND
GRANDSON OF ADMIRALS THAN TO
MUTINY.
MUTINY. EVENTUALLY HE CONCLUDED THE ONLY
WAY TO REALLY MAKE HIS MARK ON
THE WORLD IS TO COMMIT TO
SOMETHING BIGGER THAN YOURSELF.
AND FOR JOHN, THAT MEANT
ANSWERING THE HIGHEST OF
CALLINGS.
CALLINGS. SERVING HIS COUNTRY IN A TIME OF
WAR.
WAR. OTHERS THIS WEEK AND THIS
MORNING HAVE SPOKEN TO THE
DEPTHS OF HIS TERRORORMENT AND T
DEPTHS OF HIS COURAGE THERE IN
THE CELLS OF HANOI WHEN DAY
AFTER DAY, YEAR AFTER YEAR, THAT
YOUTHFUL IRON WAS TEMPERED INTO
STEEL.
STEEL. BRINGS TO MIND SOMETHING THAT
HEMMINGWAY WROTE IN A BOOK THAT
MEGAN REFERRED TO, HIS FAVORITE
BOOK.
BOOK. TODAY IS ONLY ONE DAY IN ALL THE
DAYS THAT WILL EVER BE, BUT WHAT
WILL HAPPEN IN ALL THE OTHER
DAYS THAT EVER COME CAN DEPEND
ON WHAT YOU DO TODAY.
IN CAPTIVITY, JOHN LEARNED IN
WAYS THAT FEW OF US EVER WILL,
THE MEANING OF THOSE WORDS.
HOW EACH MOMENT, EACH DAY, EACH
CHOICE IS A TEST.
AND JOHN McCAIN PASSED THAT TEST
AGAIN, AND, AGAIN, AND, AGAIN,..
WHEN JOHN SPOKE WITH VIRTUES
LIKE SERVICE AND DUTY, IT DIDN’T
RING HALLOW.
RING HALLOW. THEY WEREN’T JUST WORDS TO HIM.
IT WAS A TRUTH THAT HE HAD
LIFTED.
LIFTED. AND FOR WHICH HE WAS PREPARED TO
DIE.
DIE. IT ENFORCED EVEN THE MOST
CYNICAL TO CONSIDER WHAT WERE WE
DOING FOR OUR COUNTRY?
WHAT MIGHT WE RISK EVERYTHING
FOR?
FOR? MUCH HAS BEEN SAID THIS WEEK
ABOUT WHAT A MAVERICK JOHN WAS.
NFTD.
NFTD. JOHN
JOHN IN FACT.
IN FACT. JOHN WAS A PRETTY CONSERVATIVE
GUY.
GUY. TRUST ME, I WAS ON THE END OF
SOME OF THOSE VOTES.
HE DID UNDERSTAND SOME
PRINCIPLES TRANSCEND POLITICS.
SOME VALUES TRANSCEND PARTY.
HE CONSIDERED IT PART OF HIS
DUTY TO UPHOLD THOSE PRINCIPLES
AND UPHOLD THOSE VALUES.
JOHN CARED ABOUT THE
INSTITUTIONS OF SELF GOVERNMENT,
OUR CONSTITUTION, WILL OF
RIGHTS.
RIGHTS. RULE OF LAW.
SEPARATION OF POWERS.
EVEN THE RULES AND PROCEDURES OF
THE SENATE.
THE SENATE. HE KNEW THAT IN A NATION AS BIG
AND BOISTEROUS AND DIVERSE AS
OURS, THOSE INSTITUTIONS, THOSE
RULES, THOSE NORMS ARE WHAT BIND
US TOGETHER.
US TOGETHER. THEY GIVE SHAPE AND ORDER TO OUR
COMMON LIFE.
COMMON LIFE. JOHN BELIEVED IN HONEST ARGUMENT
IN HEARING OTHER VIEWS.
UNDERSTOOD IF WE GET IN THE
HABIT OF BENDING THE TRUTH TO
SUIT POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY OR
PARTY ORTHODOXY, OUR DEMOCRACY
WILL NOT WORK.
SOMETIMES WORK ACROSS THE AISLE.
THAT’S WHY HE CHAMPIONED A FREE
AND INDEPENDENT PRESS.
THE FACT IT EARNED HIM GOOD
COVERAGE DIDN’T HURT EITHER.
JOHN UNDERSTAND AS JFK
UNDERSTOOD, AS RONLALD REAGAN
UNDERSTOOD, THAT PART OF WHAT
MAKES OUR COUNTRY GREAT IS THAT
OUR MEMBERSHIP IS BASED NOT ON
BLOODLINE.
BLOODLINE. NOT ON WHAT WE LOOK LIKE.
NOT WHAT OUR LAST NAMES ARE.
NOT BASED WHERE OUR PARENTS OR
GRANDPARENTS CAME FROM.
OR HOW RECENTLY THEY ARRIVED.
ON ADHERENCE TO A COMMON THEME
THAT ALL OF US ARE CREATED
EQUAL.
EQUAL. AND DIALLED BY OUR CREATOR TO
CERTAIN RIGHTS.
CERTAIN RIGHTS. IT’S BEEN MENTIONED TODAY AND WE
SEE FOOTAGE THIS WEEK OF JOHN
PUSHING BACK AGAINST SUPPORTERS
WHO CHALLENGED MY PATRIOTISM
DURING THE 2008 CAMPAIGN.
I NEVER SAW JOHN TREAT ANYONE
DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE OF THEIR
RACE OR RELIGION OR GENDER.
I’M CERTAIN IN THE MOMENTS
REFERRED TO DURING THE CAMPAIGN,
HE SAW HIMSELF AS DEFENDING
AMERICA’S CHARACTER.
AMERICA’S CHARACTER. NOT JUST MINE.
CONSIDERED IT TO BE IMPERATIVE
OF EVERY CITIZEN WHO LOVES THIS
COUNTRY TO TREAT ALL PEOPLE
FAIRLY.
FAIRLY. AND FINALLY WHILE JOHN AND I
DISAGREED ON ALL KINDS OF
FOREIGN POLICY ISSUES, WE STOOD
TOGETHER ON AMERICA’S ROLE IN
THE ONE FORMATION BELIEVING THAT
WITH GREAT POWER AND GREAT
BLESSINGS COMES GREAT
RESPONSIBILITY.
RESPONSIBILITY. THAT BURDEN IS BORN.
SERVICE MEMBERS LIKE DOUG,
JIMMY, JACK WHO FOLLOWED THEIR
FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS, AS WELL AS
THE FAMILIES WHO SERVE ALONGSIDE
OUR TROOPS., BUT JOHN UNDERSTOOD
THAT OUR SECURITY AND OUR
INFLUENCE WAS ONE NOT JUST BY
OUR MILITARY MIGHT.
NOT JUST BY OUR WEALTH, NOT JUST
BY OUR ABILITY TO BEND OTHERS TO
OUR WILL, BUT FROM OUR CAPACITY
TO INSPIRE OTHERS.
WITH OUR ADHERENCE TO A SET OF
UNIVERSAL VALUES.
UNIVERSAL VALUES. OF EVERY HUMAN BEING.
OF COURSE JOHN WAS THE FIRST TO
TELL US HE WAS NOT PERFECT.
LIKE ALL OF US WHO GO INTO
PUBLIC SERVICE, HE DID HAVE AN
EGO.
EGO. LIKE ALL OF US, THERE WAS NO
DOUBTS IN VOTES HE CAST.
SOME COMPROMISES HE STRUCK.
SOME DECISIONS HE MADE THAT HE
WISHED HE COULD HAVE BACK.
IT’S NO SECRET IT’S BEEN
MENTIONED HEAD HAD A TEMPER.
AND WHEN IT FLARED UP, IT WAS A
FORCE OF NATURE.
A WONDER TO BEHOLD.
HIS JAW GRINDING, HIS FACE
REDDENING.
REDDENING. HIS EYES BORING A HOLE RIGHT
THROUGH YOU.
THROUGH YOU. NOT THAT I EVER EXPERIENCED IT
FIRSTHAND, MIND YOU., BUT TO KNO
JOHN WAS TO KNOW THAT AS QUICK
AS HIS PASSIONS MIGHT FLAIR, HE
WAS JUST AS QUICK TO POR GIVE
AND ASK FOR FORGIVENESS.
HE KNEW MORE THAN MOST HIS OWN
FLAWS.
FLAWS. THEY KNEW HOW TO LAUGH AT
HIMSELF.
HIMSELF. WE DIDN’T ADVERTISE IT, BUT
EVERY SO OFTEN JOHN WOULD COME
OVER TO THE WHITE HOUSE AND WE
WOULD JUST SIT AND TALK IN THE
OVAL OFFICE, JUST THE TWO OF US.
WE TALKED ABOUT POLICY AND
FAMILY.
FAMILY. AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE STATE OF
OUR POLITICS.
OUR POLITICS. THOSE WERE REAL CONVERSATIONS.
THEY WERE OFTEN DEEP.
WHAT WE ENJOYED THE TIME WE
SHARED AWAY FROM THE BRIGHT
LIGHTS.
LIGHTS. WE LAUGHED WITH EACH OTHER.
AND WE LEARNED FROM EACH OTHER.
WE NEVER DOUBTED THE OTHER MAN’S
SINCERITY.
SINCERITY. OR THE OTHER MAN’S PATRIOTISM OR
THAT WHEN ALL WAS SAID AND DONE,
WE WERE ON THE SAME TEAM.
WE NEVER DOUBTED WE WERE ON THE
SAME TEAM.
SAME TEAM. FOR ALL OF OUR DIFFERENCES, WE
SHARE ADD FIDELITY TO THE IDEALS
FOR WHICH GENERATIONS OF
AMERICANS HAD MARCHED AND FOUGHT
AND SACRIFICED.
AND SACRIFICED. AND GIVEN THEIR LIVES.
WE CONSIDERED OUR POLITICAL
BATTLES A PRIVILEGE.
TO DO OUR BEST TO ADVANCE THEM
AROUND THE WORLD.
WE SAW THIS COUNTRY AS A PLACE
WHERE ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
AND CITIZENSHIP WAS AN
OBLIGATION TO TEN SURE IT
FOREVER REMAINS THAT WAY.
MORE THAN ONCE DURING HIS
CAREER, JOHN DREW COMPARISONS TO
TEDDY ROOSEVELT.
TEDDY ROOSEVELT. I’M SURE IT’S BEEN MOTED THAT
ROOSEVELT MAN IN THE ARENA SEEMS
TAILORED TO JOHN.
MOST OF YOU KNOW IT.
ROOSEVELT SPEAKS OF THOSE WHO
STRIVE, WHO DARE TO DO GREAT
THINGS, WHO SOMETIMES WIN AND
SOMETIMES COME UP SHORT.
BUT ALWAYS RELISH A GOOD FIGHT.
CONTRAST TO COLD TIMID SOULS WHO
KNOW NEITHER VICTORY NOR DEFEAT.
ISN’T THAT THE SPIRIT WE
CELEBRATE THIS WEEK?
THAT STRIVING TO BE BETTER, TO
DO BETTER?
DO BETTER? TO BE WORTHY.
OF THE GREAT INHERITANCE OUR
FOUNDERS BESTOWED.
FOUNDERS BESTOWED. SO MUCH OF OUR POLITIC SS OR
PUBLIC DISCOURSE CAN SEEM SO
SMALL.
SMALL. AND MEAN AND PETTY.
PHONY CONTROVERSIES.
PHONY CONTROVERSIES. MANUFACTURERS OUTRAGE.
MANUFACTURERS OUTRAGE. POLITICS THAT PRETEND TO BE
BRAVE AND TOUGH, BUT IN FACT IS
BORN OF FEAR.
JOHN CALLED ON US TO BE BIGGER
THAN THAT.
THAN THAT. HE HAS KAULTD ON USCALLED ON US
THAN THAT.
THAN THAT. TODAY IS ONLY ONE DAY AND ALL
THE DAYS THAT WILL EVER BE.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN ALL OF THE
OTHER DAYS THAT WILL EVER COME
CAN DEPEND ON WHAT YOU DO TODAY.
WHAT BETTER WAY TO HONOR JOHN
McCAIN’S LIFE OF SERVICE THAN AS
BEST WE CAN.
FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLE.
PROVE THAT THE WILLINGNESS TO
GET IN THE ARENA AND FIGHT FOR
THIS COUNTRY IS NOT RESERVED FOR
THE FEW.
THE FEW. IT IS OPEN TO ALL OF US.
AND, IN FACT, IT’S DEMANDED OF
ALL OF US AS CITIZENS OF THIS
GREAT REPUBLIC.
GREAT REPUBLIC. THAT’S PERHAPS HOW WE HONOR HIM
BEST.
BEST. BY RECOGNIZING THAT THERE ARE
SOME THINGS BIGGER THAN PARTY OR
AMBITION OR MONEY OR FAME OR
POWER.
POWER. THERE’S SOME THINGS THAT ARE
WORTH RISKING EVERYTHING FOR.
PRINCIPALS THAT ARE ETERNAL.
TRUTHS THAT ARE ABIDING.
IT IS BEST JOHN SHOWED US WHAT
THAT MEANS.
THAT MEANS. FOR THAT, WE ARE ALL DEEPLY IN
HIS DEBT.