The Senate sencured him for his actions/ dealings with Charles Keating.
He jumped in bed with a crook. You are known by the friends you keep!
McCain had the good luck to have John Glenn also involved in the Keating scandal. There was no way the Senate was going to declare America’s astronaut hero a crook. There was also no way the George H.W. Bush Justice Department would prosecute Glenn. The Keating 5 got off with a slap on the wrist allowing McCain to dodge the bullet that should have ended his career.
After that incident McCain started courting the press aggressively. He adopted the “maverick” persona, stabbing fellow Republicans in the back in order to win the adulation of the press and befriend the Democrat power structure the press supported. He became the reasonable Republican who would compromise. He also became the Republican star of the Sunday talk show circuit because he would reliably provide sound bites undercutting conservatives.
McCain is an opportunist with no guiding principles or ethics. His inflated ego requires him to be the media star. Unfortunately for McCain his advancing years mean he will soon pass from the scene. His long time buddies in the press are retiring and their replacements are looking for newer and younger politicians to interview. As McCain sees Graham, Rubio, Cruz and others take the air time he believes is rightfully his, he seems to be making more outrageous statements in order to grab attention from the media. What he fails to understand is the act has run its course. He now looks like the old fool he is instead of the compromising statesman. The media now gives him air time so the liberal audience can laugh at the old white man who lost to Obama. McCain’s antics are now useful because they give credence to the Democrat talking points that the GOP is the party of mean old irrelevant white men.