Trump, Obama and More Politicians Pay Their Respects to John McCain

After the news broke that John McCain had died on Saturday, fellow politicians from both sides of the aisle paid their respects to the 81-year-old Arizona senator and Vietnam War veteran on social media and in formal statements.

McCain died on Saturday afternoon at his Arizona ranch, surrounded by family and aides, according to several reports. Just one day before the senator had announced that he had stopped treatment for brain cancer. Though he had "surpassed expectations for survival," the family said in an Aug. 24 statement, "the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict."

McCain stepped away from Washington in December to seek treatment. It's expected that Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey will name McCain's replacement in the Senate to serve out the rest of his term.

In the aftermath of the news, president Donald Trump tweeted, "My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you!"

Former president Barack Obama, McCain's rival in the 2008 presidential election, said in part in his statement, "Few of us have been tested the way John once was, or required to show the kind of courage he did. But all of us can aspire to the courage to put the greater good above our own. At John's best, he showed us what that means."

McCain's running mate in the 2008 presidential election, Sarah Palin, wrote in remembrance: "Today we lost an American original. Sen. John McCain was a maverick and a fighter, never afraid to stand for his beliefs. John never took the easy path in life - and through sacrifice and suffering he inspired others to serve something greater than self. John McCain was my friend. I will remember the good times. My family and I send prayers for Cindy and the McCain family."

Minority leader of the U.S. House of representatives Nancy Pelosi tweeted, "He was a patriotic, courageous hero who served his country above all. You will be missed, Senator McCain. May you Rest In Peace."

Among them , my wife, but re McLame-———

When McCain returned to America in 1973 to a fanfare of publicity and a handshake from Richard Nixon, he discovered his wife had been disfigured in a terrible car crash three years earlier. Her car had skidded on icy roads into a telegraph pole on Christmas Eve, 1969. Her pelvis and one arm were shattered by the impact and she suffered massive internal injuries.

When Carol was discharged from hospital after six months of life-saving surgery, the prognosis was bleak. In order to save her legs, surgeons had been forced to cut away huge sections of shattered bone, taking with it her tall, willowy figure. She was confined to a wheelchair and was forced to use a catheter.
But thru sheer hard work, Carol learned to walk again. But when John McCain came home from Vietnam, she had gained a lot of weight and bore little resemblance to her old self.

Today, she stands at just 5ft4in and still walks awkwardly, with a pronounced limp. Her body is held together by screws and metal plates and, at 70, her face is worn by wrinkles that speak of decades of silent suffering.

For nearly 30 years, Carol has maintained a dignified silence about the accident, McCain and their divorce. But last week at the bungalow where she now lives at Virginia Beach, a faded seaside resort 200 miles south of Washington, she told The Mail on Sunday how McCain divorced her in 1980 and married Cindy, 18 years his junior and the heir to an Arizona brewing fortune, just one month later

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.