Farewell John McCain

John McCain was not of my political party.  John McCain was not of my politics. 

But he was a unique person on the political landscape.  I admired him even when I disagreed with him (which was often).  But it wasn't "always" either.  And that "always" is the thing we have lost these days.  The ability to sometimes agree with people you normally disagree with is essential to democracy...

A Soviet Chess Grandmaster (I forgot who) once said "I sometimes forget my opponents have good ideas too".  That applies to politics too.  John McCain sometimes had "good ideas too".  He was a very good Senator, who spoke honestly and directly.  That is a quality we will all miss.

We will never know whether he would have been a good President.  He might have been a great one or a terrible one.   History suggests mavericks can go either way.  I've tried to think of when he would have been a better President than the person who won.  It's difficult.  He probably would have been the right person to campaign against Gore in 2000.  I would have been twisted in knots about that choice, and either would have been better than Bush.

In 2008, I was torn between McCain and Obama, but decided that Obama was likely better at organizing the office and managing the affairs of government.  It wasn't easy.  My heart was for McCain, my mind was for Obama.

The deciding factor was that McCain would bring the Republican party into power and I thought the Democrats would do better overall.  But it was very close.  Both men seemed honest, honorable, and thoughtful.  And Palin mattered.  It signaled to me he was a good Senator who maybe didn't have a great talent for choosing qualified people to work around him.  There is something to be said for getting good subordinate executive managers.   Just look at Trump for examples of that.

If it was "just the President", I would have gone with McCain, hoped that Obama would run again in 2016 with more Senate experience, and won then. 

But that is all water over the dam now.  We have lost a person who was so very honorable, brave, and willing to think for himself.  Yes, "honorable, brave, and willing to think" does not necessarily mean a great executive,  but it is probably better than the opposite.  We could sure use more people like him than fewer.

Farewell John McCain...