Reconsidering John McCain

As I watched the 60 Minutes interview with John McCain, I felt a deep, unexpected sadness at the thought he's not going to be around. He's bravely fighting yet another battle, this time with glioblastoma—the same aggressive brain cancer that forms in the brain and spinal cord. The same cancer that took Ted Kennedy.

I suppose like a lot of people, I've gone in and out of liking and disliking McCain. But in his sunset years in the Senate, even though he hasn't always walked the walk, I find the thought of his absence painful.

I thought I'd never be able to forgive him for unleashing the political train wreck that is Sarah Palin on the world, but I have. Despite surfacing with some idiotic gibberish every once in awhile, with the exception of the occasional brief appearance on Fox News, she's long ago been relegated to a footnote, like Kato Kaelin or Ross Perot.

Like we all thought Trump would be.

The constant character trait in McCain's life has, without a doubt, been bravery. When he was shot down and held prisoner, he was tortured relentlessly. At one point, he was offered early release, which he refused. He wouldn't leave until all his fellow soldiers who'd been captured with him were freed.

He's fought endlessly and tirelessly for things in the Senate. And whether I agreed with them or not, and it was mostly not, I admired his intelligence and persistence.

Most recently, at 81, he's geared up for yet another battle. He's made himself a pariah in many dark, dusty corners of the GOP for having the unmitigated gall to do the right thing, and stand up to the most unqualified sociopath ever to hold the office of the presidency. People speculate he's doing it because at this point he's got nothing to lose, but I think it's more than that. I think it's what he genuinely believes.

Donald Trump's statement about liking heroes that weren't captured should make everyone cringe. With McCain being a genuine hero, from a military family of heroes, the statement from Trump is as vile, vulgar and uninformed as the liar making it.

The reason it angers him so deeply is that McCain has become the de facto conscience of the Republican party. His seniority gives him the gravitas, and his sense of what's right and what elected representatives are supposed to do has earned him respect from both sides of the aisle.

I have a friend who was involved at the highest levels of the McCain presidential campaign. We don't see each other often, but when we do we never talk about it, because we both know where each other stands.

I'm nothing if not vocal about my views.

But lately, I see what she saw in him.

I hope McCain beats the odds and beats his cancer. At this critical time in history, it'd be an unthinkable loss to say goodbye to one of the senate's last voices of reason.

Let's hope we don't have to for a while longer.

Sarah Palin needs to stop talking

I usually don't get so political on this blog, but eventually everyone hits their threshold. And as far as Sarah Palin goes, I've hit mine. Enough is enough.

Enough with the media giving this carpetbagger airtime. Seriously, Kim Kardashian has more lucid opinions on the state of geo-global politics. Sarah Palin's opinions (and of course she's entitled to them) and take on the state of the world, nation, economy, health care, Obama, Cairo or whatever mean absolutely nothing.

I recently saw again the clip of her giving yet another incoherent speech (it was at the Tea Party Convention, so I suppose the word incoherent is redundant) where she asks Obama "How's that hopey, changey stuff workin' out for ya?"

Well, I have a question for Sarah: How'd that roguey, mavericky thing work out for you?

There are good, intelligent and honorable people in both parties. But people like Sarah Palin are the reason they steer clear of public service. The fact that this quitter can actually be taken seriously is just too disheartening (bonus points if you can explain what she's talking about in her resignation speech).

In every poll, I mean every poll, she trails any other candidate. She can't beat Obama (although seriously, I'd buy a ticket to that debate, wouldn't you?), she can't win the nomination from Romney (who as governor actually accomplished things, like instituting one of the nation's most progressive state-run health care plans), and she can't string five words together that make sense to save her life.

The real blame here has to go to John McCain, a once great public servant who traded his dignity, soul and reputation on a last chance run at the presidency. He tossed her into the national spotlight. He met her once - ONCE - before inviting her to be his running mate. He said she seemed "nice." Perfect qualifications for the next in line.

You know who else is nice? Betty White. At least she makes sense when she speaks.

Now, I do agree with Sarah that she's gotten some unfair press. For example the shootings in Arizona had nothing to do with her gunsight chart or her "reload" rhetoric. But it is hard to take her complaints about her bad treatment from the press seriously when she starts whining about how Katie Couric ambushed her by asking what newspapers she reads.

She's "written" two books. She gets huge public speaking fees. She had a reality show on Discovery. And she's a commentator on FOX. She's cashed in on her 15 minutes more than Kato Kaelin. It's time to shuffle on off to become another footnote to political history, like Thomas Eagleton or Ross Perot.

Why doesn't she go home to Alaska, hunt some moose (which is fine with me because they're wicked nasty abominations anyway), and give Bristol some tips on her next abstinence talk with teenagers (cheap shot - I don't care).

I fully expect some of my more conservative friends will come after me for this post, and that's fine. They'll point out people in the Democratic party who are just as objectionable to them. And they'll probably be right about some of them. There's no shortage on either side.

I do think that Sarah Palin's done a lot to change the attitudes of world leaders.

I believe because of her, as Putin rears his head and enters the airspace of the United States, he thanks his lucky stars the first place he passes over is Alaska.