DC is darker for the loss of patriot John McCain

“We live in a land made of ideals, not blood and soil. We are the custodians of those ideals at home, and their champion abroad. We have done great good in the world. … We have a moral obligation to continue in our just cause, and we would bring more than shame on ourselves if we don’t.” — Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

He wasn’t perfect by any means, but Sen. John McCain was a patriot who placed country before politics. Washington, D.C., is a darker place with his passing.

McCain — who survived a Vietnam prisoner of war camp for five years and went on to serve as a U.S. senator for more than three decades — died Saturday at his ranch in Arizona following a yearlong battle with brain cancer. He was 81.

Former President George W. Bush called McCain a “man of deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order.”

While on his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam in 1967, McCain was shot down and taken prisoner. He endured years of solitary confinement, beatings and other torture. When his captors offered him early release as a propaganda ploy, he refused, insisting those captured first should be released first. He eventually returned home on crutches and never regained full mobility in his arms and right leg. But he didn’t allow those disabilities to hold him back. Besides representing Arizona in the House and then the Senate starting in 1982, he twice ran for president, in 2000 and again in 2008.

While on the campaign trail in October 2008, McCain famously corrected a woman who referred to then-presidential candidate Barack Obama as an “Arab,” saying she couldn’t trust him. McCain took the high road: “No, ma’am,” he said. “No, ma’am. He’s a decent, family man, citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that’s what this campaign is all about.”

McCain wasn’t a saint by any means, and had his share of scandal and failings; he wasn’t always on the right side of history. But he was a man of integrity willing to reach across the aisle. He fought hard for veterans and was our country’s moral compass on certain issues, including the use of torture, which he vehemently opposed. Our nation needs more patriots like John McCain.