Sen. McCain never quit on his country

The Arizona Republic, editorial:

“John McCain was our senior senator, but we shared him with the world. Just about every important conference on defense and foreign affairs eagerly sought McCain’s participation. ... There was a moment after McCain had returned home from Washington for what looked like the last time, when journalists began preparing for his imminent resignation. But some who knew him best realized that was foolish. ... If you sat down with him ... it wouldn’t take long before the conversation drifted to sports. And it is there you find the metaphor that best describes McCain: ‘He left it all on the field.’ Which is to say, he never quit on us.”

Carla Herreria, HuffPost:

“It was one of McCain’s finest political moments. At a rally for his presidential bid late in 2008 campaign, an audi- ence member ... tells him she doesn’t trust his opponent, then-Sen. Barack Obama. ... Even as McCain’s responses ... garner renewed praise, some noted that he could have made a broader point. When the woman refers to Obama as an Arab and McCain says, ‘No ... he’s a decent family man, citizen,’ without mentioning that Arabic-speaking people can also be decent citizens.”

Harry J. Kazianis, Fox News:

“In 2015, when I interviewed him for Real Clear Defense ... he was adamant that the Obama administration was completely underestimating the threat posed by Russia. ... And look how right McCain was. Today, Russia is clearly one of America’s top geopolitical enemies. ... One can only wonder if we had listened to McCain a little more, or if he had been elected president when he ran against Obama in 2008, how different the world would be today.”