Senator John McCain, the maverick of the U.S. Senate, died Saturday at 81. The management team of Face Activities extends condolences to the McCain family. A great patriot, leader, and human being, he cannot be replaced: there will only be one John McCain.
Though a conservative, he was never afraid to break ranks with his colleagues on principle and disagree with the Republican establishment on key issues, earning his label as a maverick.
Known as a champion of bipartisanship, he reached across the aisle many times over his long and effective career to work with his democratic colleagues, like the late Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, to pass important legislation, like the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act.
From a military family, he served as a naval aviator during the Vietnam war. In 1967 he was shot down, seriously injured, and captured, spending six years in a POW camp, enduring torture, and earning his reputation as a war hero.
He eventually left the Navy with the rank of Captain, and turned his efforts to politics, winning an Arizona seat in the House of Representatives, and eventually the Senate, where he served for over three decades.
He also ran in two presidential campaigns, losing to George Bush in a primary, and Barak Obama in a general election. In the latter race, despite fierce competition, he earned the respect of millions by publically correcting a frightened voter who believed a conspiracy theory that Obama was a foreign Muslim—an example of integrity and fair play for today’s trying times that the the 45th President would do well to pay close attention to.
Senator McCain is survived by seven children, including his daughter Meghan, now a well known celebrity, and his wife Cindy.
Photo: public Domain (U.S. Congress)
