Posted on 05/31/2008 12:10:59 PM PDT by calcowgirl
There were moments when John McCain had no idea if his friend even knew he was there. For eight long years, at least once a month, McCain would drive to the veterans' hospital in Washington, D.C., to sit for hours at the bedside of his political mentor, Morris Udall. The legendary liberal Democrat had been first admitted in 1990 suffering from the effects of Parkinson's. By the end, the debilitating disease had taken away Udall's ability to speak and to recognize visitors.
But McCain still went, bringing newspaper clippings about subjects that Udall loved most, like the environment and Native American issues. ... "I was a real jerk when I was first in Congress," McCain told Udall's daughter, Anne, after one of his visits. "I didn't know anything, and I thought I knew everything." Udall, he told her, had taught him the importance of consensus and compromise.
... By his own account, McCain began his political career as a hothead—"an emotional partisan," he wrote in "Worth the Fighting For." Udall by then was a larger-than-life character from conservative Arizona who was considered the liberal conscience of Congress. ...
In 1983, during McCain's first months in Congress, Udall suggested that they work together on issues of common interest. He invited McCain to joint press conferences back home, an unusual move for lawmakers of opposing parties. "He'd be in the middle of answering a question, and he would turn to me and say, 'I'd like to hear what John thinks,' or 'Congressman McCain and I are working on this'," McCain recalled to reporters earlier this year. "But we weren't. I didn't know a copper mine from a cotton farm. I was nobody." Udall was sharing some of his prestige. "It was an incredibly generous gesture on his part," McCain says.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
Not sure what to make of this.
Thank you - an excellent post.
What a riddle wrapped in an enigma and kept in a conundrum is this man John McCain.
A FReeper will ping me with a diatribe against him and then to read this.............I’m stumped...what a deeply complex human being.
I guess it is not Mormons nor liberals he hates , just Romney the profiteer .
Why? It's an old story, and something a decent human being would do for another person for whom they cared about. Most people would do the same. If one has to stop and think about it, then that says everything about the person doing the thinking.
Mo Udall was my Congressman when I lived in Tucson in the seventies. He was a fairly run-of-the-mill liberal with a carefully tended reputation for environmental activism (his brother Stewart had been Interior Secretary under Kennedy.)
In resality Udall was not much of a doer, but a popular, inoffensive sort of guy in Washington. It helps makes sense of McCain's annoying liberal tendencies to know he considered Mo Udall his big mentor/buddy.
That would explain McCain’s numerous liberal leanings, as well as his constant “reaching across the aisle” despite it being a one-way aisle.
Nothing has changed Johnny.
John McCain has a real soft spot in his heart for liberals.
MOST people would NOT crow about doing something for someone they cared deeply about. NOT going to respond to your highly esteemed seat of judgment.
“ACE” McCain was born a jerk! But, he gets my vote anyway.
I appreciate your explanation. Yes I remember..... MUdall, but it seems like such a very long time ago and reason why I said what I said. I made no judgment regarding McCain's deeds.
No points for you!
Udall was Carter's opponent in the 1976 presidential primaries. He almost won the Wisconsin primary, but lost by 1% of the vote. Carter got the Mayor of Detroit to attack Udall for being a Mormon in the days when LDS excluded Blacks from the priesthood, so Udall lost Michigan as well. Whether Udall would have made an effective president is debateable, but he did have a better sense of humor than Carter (which isn't saying much).
This, from his Wikipedia entry may be interesting:
Mo's son, Mark Udall, was elected to the U.S. Congress from Colorado's 2nd district in 1998. As of 2008, the younger Udall is seeking election to the U.S. Senate from Colorado, almost certainly competing with Republican Bob Schaffer to replace Wayne Allard. With cousin Tom Udall of New Mexico and maternal-line double cousin Gordon Smith of Oregon, Mark Udall is one of three Udalls seeking election to the Senate in 2008.
“Udall, he told her, had taught him the importance of consensus and compromise.”
Calcowgirl, did you know that Oregon’s own “R” senator Gordon Smith is part of the Udall family? “R” standing for RINO!
I caught one of his ads last night. He has a new slogan, “Common Ground for the Common Good”
“Common Good”....that is a phrase that bothers me. Who’s ‘common good”? How ‘bout a little ‘greater good’ for a change instead of these squishy middle democrats in a republican cloak? And yes, I mean McCain, too.
I recall several years ago being in a meeting with Gordon Smith when he reminded me, “He who has the gold, makes the rules....”. We’re having the best election money can buy.
Should read: “and Democrats who were more conservative than some Republicans ...”
Hmmmm... sounds like 90% of the Freepers. Maybe there is still hope for the I-hate-everyone-to-the-left-of-Micheal-Savage crowd on here after all.
Hey you were making a better case with your first response. As a US Senator the first obligation is to the Constitution of the United States NOT some ailing friend and family and news media to demonstration good Samaritan deeds. You surely are not going to say that first and foremost lord McCain has been loyal to his sworn oath now are you ?????
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.