John McCain has occasionally been mentioned on this blog…and some of you have heard the deep sigh of disappointment that accompanies his name. I have rarely agreed with McCain's politics but there was a time when I thought he was a man of great character. And by that I mean someone who understands and works for the greater good even at personal expense or, in politics, possibly alienating his immediate base of support. Late in life, Barry Goldwater — whose name kinda defined Conservatism in this country for a long time — horrified many of his fans by coming out for gay rights and denouncing what he called a pernicious bigotry, on that issue and others, within the Republican party. Some who'd previously canonized the man and hung on his every word could not deal with this. I remember a Goldwater hagiographer going on the old CNN Crossfire and trying to spin it as senility and assuring us that the real Barry Goldwater still opposed gays in the military, gays everywhere, no matter what that sad old man who looked like The Real Barry said.
Goldwater, of course, had little to lose then by speaking his mind. He wasn't running for anything. But I got this idea in my head at some point that his fellow Arizonan, Senator McCain, was the kind of man who would put principle over votes…who would "reach across the aisle" and back a Democratic initiative if he thought it was the right thing to do. Where did I get such an idea? Well, once upon a time, he did do that kind of thing but also there were a number of articles that helped shape my image of the man. The most significant probably ran in The New Republic and dealt with McCain's relationship with a man named David Ifshin. It's a powerful piece and there's one line in it that made a big impression on me and has stayed in my mind to this day and changed my outlook a little. It's the line about how forgiveness is ultimately less self-destructive than the bitter desire for vengeance.
I just found a link to the piece, which was written by Michael Lewis. If you put the current and recent McCain out of your mind and read it, I'll bet you find yourself admiring the man…and also keep in mind that it appeared in a magazine that was quite Liberal. During the same period, I often read The National Review and I never saw them run anything that so flattered a public figure who was at all left of center. In fact, they didn't even run anything that was this flattering about McCain.
Did McCain change or was the author of this piece somewhat duped? Certainly the former (remember when there was talk of him switching parties?) and probably the latter to some extent. But at least I'm not the only one who had to turn loose of that John McCain. I came across this piece by wizened old Joe Klein in Time and saw that he made much the same journey. And Klein's piece also reminded me that the Obama campaign could easily have turned Ifshin into McCain's William Ayers (scandalous past) or Reverend Wright (America-hating)…but didn't. That's a small bit of integrity on their part but it's not enough to offset the cynicism that has built within me about all politicians. It's kind of reached the point where the ones I like and admire, I regard as just the ones either (a) haven't gotten around to selling out their principles, perhaps because they haven't gotten the right price, (b) never really had them and have managed to fool me or (c) have long since sold 'em out in some way and I just don't know about it yet. And in the last decade or so, no one in public life has let me down more than David Ifshin's dear friend, John McCain.