“Am I off the mark here?”
I think you are over thinking it. The South can be excessive in speaking well of the most useless villains who have finally up and died, bless their hearts. It is just a thing that we do.
Also, many like the warmongering, and took, and take, any neoconartist’s cries for bloodshed as some weird ritual requirement for American strength. It’s dead wrong, but it is there.
McCain was at his best incompetent, at his worst, demonic. What I did find cheering was the signal sent by those who lowered the flags just tiny touch. Fulfills all requirements.
The garrison size flags I saw were lowered full half staff till they were touching RV & trailer roofs.
A flag dipping only slightly below the truck only shows the incompetence of the one who failed to raise it to full staff.
It’s a culture war and it is the beginning of CWII.