King of Sunday political talk
A staple of shows for years, McCain dominated them for one last time
Sen. John McCain dominated the Sunday morning political talk shows one more time.
The Arizona Republican, who made hundreds of appearances on programs like “Meet the Press” and “Face the Nation” over the course of his Senate career, headlined the shows again as each paid tribute to McCain, who died Saturday after a yearlong battle with brain cancer.
Even during a week with more tectonic rumblings in the ongoing investigation by the special counsel and a parallel probe of President Donald Trump’s closest associates by federal authorities in New York, McCain’s death topped the news.
The highlight reel of McCain’s remarkable — and occasionally regrettable — political career ran across the screens as figures like Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., former Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton took measure of his work in Washington.
Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, retold the tense moments before McCain joined her and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, RAlaska, with a dramatic thumbs down in 2017 to effectively save the Affordable Care Act, the signature legislative achievement of McCain’s one-time presidential opponent, former President Barack Obama.
“We knew that he was struggling with the issue and we sat down and started talking with him. And all of sudden, he pointed to the two of us and said, ‘You two are right,’” she remembered. “That’s when I knew he was going to vote ‘no.’”
“We will really be missing such an important voice for national unity,” Collins said. “John McCain felt very strongly about virtually every issue that he tackled but it was never based in partisanship.”
McCain made 73 appearances on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the most of any guest. He made 112 appearances on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” also a record. On Sunday, both shows ran montages of his more candid moments, jokes about his ill-fated presidential runs and serious assessments about what he added to the public debate.
In an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, a former CIA director, said McCain had special importance to a new generation of veterans.
“No one had the backs of America’s new ‘Greatest Generation’ — those who fought the wars of the post-9/11 period — more than he did. No one did more to assure that they had what was needed to prevail,” he said.
“His legacy is really one of civility and dignity and honor and integrity, and something that we really need very much in politics,” said Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., speaking on “Fox News Sunday.”
Kyl told “Fox News Sunday” that McCain poured boundless energy into his work.
“John’s entire approach to life was we want to get the most out of the time we have here, so let’s dig in and get going, and in his case, it pointed him into public service,” Kyl said. “He certainly did get the most out of the time he had here.
On “Face the Nation,” Flake recounted a recent conversation with McCain as a cause for optimism at a time of deeply polarized politics.
“One of the last long conversations I had with John was a few months ago sitting there watching Oak Creek roll by. And he expressed such admiration for Arizona leaders in the past who stood up. These iconoclastic Arizona figures like Goldwater and Mo Udall and others,” Flake said. “He expressed at that time his optimism that others would come to the fore that at some point the voters would value people who can govern and who reach across the aisle and see good in their opponents.”
Tom Brokaw, the retired former anchor of NBC Nightly News, praised McCain’s authenticity.
Andrea Mitchell, the longtime NBC correspondent, noted that McCain worked across the aisle with people like John Kerry, the former Secretary of State, and former President Bill Clinton, both of whom had famously taken different views of the Vietnam War that shaped McCain’s early life.
Talking about today’s divided political climate, Hillary Clinton said, “Our institutions are being severely tested right now, including his beloved Senate. He was, in every way he knew how, trying to sound the alarm.”
Flake told “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd, “I don’t know that we’ll ever see anybody who’s like John McCain. I think he’s one of a kind.”
On “This Week,” Flake was asked how best to honor McCain’s legacy.
“By seeing the good in our opponents, by being quick to forgive, by realizing there’s something more important than ourselves, to put service over and above our self-interests, as he often said and as he lived,” he said.