R.I.P. Senator John McCain

The ceremony and remarks at the Arizona Capitol were very moving.

Yeah, I watched it from start to finish. Gov. Ducey was so right when he said Arizona is known to outsiders for two things- John McCain and the Grand Canyon. Arizona without McCain is like imagining Arizona without the Grand Canyon.

Jon Kyl spoke well and it was good to see Jeff Flake give Benediction. It was a wonderful ceremony. John would have liked it.

Cindy McCain was very poised. Meghan was not.

It was good to see McCain's first wife and their children there. Usually only the second group gets attention.

I am thinking of going to the Capitol building to pay respects, but I am hearing there are hundreds of people in line, and streets are closed. Will need to figure out how to get there. There is a free bus that goes from downtown to the Capitol. So may be. I am not high on waiting in line. I did it just once - stood in line at 6 am to get one of the limited seats- to see Obama speaking at a high school (I did not get in).
 
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I am thinking of going to the Capitol building to pay respects, but I am hearing there are hundreds of people in line, and streets are closed. Will need to figure out how to get there. There is a free bus that goes from downtown to the Capitol. So may be. I am not high on waiting in line. I did it just once - stood in line at 6 am to get one of the limited seats- to see Obama speaking at a high school (I did not get in).

I heard/read that the capitol would be open for as long as there are people waiting in line.
 
If McCain was elected President in 2008 over Obama, it would be the Democrats and Lefties who'd be resisting renaming the building in his name......:rofl: (and calling the renaming "racist")..;)

I disagree. Many democrats respected McCain for the oerson he was, whether they agreed with him on political issues or not. He was the only republican who reached across the aisle to find solutions. The renaming has nothing to do with who got elected president. However, had he become POTUS, he would not have been a senator anymore and the whole picture would gave been different. He was the lion of the senate, as things turned out, and that is why there is a talk of renaming the senate building in his name.
 
I heard/read that the capitol would be open for as long as there are people waiting in line.

That is what I read, but I am leery of driving to downtown after 3 pm (sometimes after 2 pm) because the traffic is horrible. We don't have good public transport. Tonight may be my best chance, after people have gone home after work.

They have asked people to line up along I 17 when his procession goes to the First Baptist Church in North Phoenix. Oddly I will be traveling that route for a doctor's appointment but it will be later in the day. I am afraid there may be road closures. Need to find out the schedule for Biden's route and his speech.
 
I disagree. Many democrats respected McCain for the oerson he was, whether they agreed with him on political issues or not.
They sure did not show it when he was running for President in 2008.... even ridiculed his suffering while he was a POV..
http://annoy.com/img/postcards/mccain-restrained_pc.jpg
http://cdn.pophangover.com/image08/mccain-face4.jpg
https://comedycentral.mtvnimages.co...131_02_v6.jpg?width=1024&height=576&crop=true
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/UsElections_Obama_Latuff.png
... and some are just to vile to post under the circumstances....
 
Our local channel is reporting that there are thousands of people outside, line is snaking around. Current waiting time is 90 minutes to get in. They opened the door one hour earlier because of the heat. Temperature is 107 deg F. They have tents and cold water for the public. Still they took couple of people to the hospital. I am glad that I didn't try to go.

The silver lining is that McCain's death has brought people together. There are dems, reps, Indep., adults, children paying their respects.
 
Interesting to see how some "group's" rhetoric has changed towards him since all the vile dirt they shoved on him when he was running for President against Obama.
https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/54cbf593998d4de83ba37916/master/w_960,c_limit/image.jpg

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/us/politics/26ads.html
I think the 2000 campaign set up an expectation for the 2008 campaign that was almost impossible for McCain to meet and the media jumped all over that. In 2000, McCain was the insurgent campaign, running against the establishment of Bush candidacy, his campaign was very open - the bus was called the 'Straight Talk Express' - he answered questions for hours and hours. In 2008, by the time the general election came around McCain was running a much more conventional Republican media campaign, and the media didn't like it. Then there was the whole Sarah Palin thing and the missteps around the economy, and the McCain campaign was suddenly avoiding answering questions. The media doesn't deal well when someone changes tactic.
 
If McCain was elected President in 2008 over Obama, it would be the Democrats and Lefties who'd be resisting renaming the building in his name......:rofl: (and calling the renaming "racist")..;)

Mostly what Vash said. Things would have been different had he become President.
I wonder if they would resist so much if the idea had come from a Republican though.

Who is calling the renaming racist? McCain and Russell are white guys. All that people, me specifically, have been saying is that Russell was a racist. He supported segregation, opposed civil rights legislation and anti-lynching bills. If that isn't racist I don't know what is.
 
Who is calling the renaming racist? McCain and Russell are white guys. All that people, me specifically, have been saying is that Russell was a racist. He supported segregation, opposed civil rights legislation and anti-lynching bills. If that isn't racist I don't know what is.

I am all for renaming the building in the name of a Republiican..... Russell was a Democrat ..:rofl:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Russell_Jr.
 
I am all for renaming the building in the name of a Republiican..... Russell was a Democrat ..:rofl:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Russell_Jr.

I don't know why it's funny. I also don't know what party has anything to do with it. Russell was a racist. McCain was a non-racist, capable and bipartisan politician. That's all I need to know.

That said, I know that Russell was a Democrat, particularly, a Southern Democrat. I don't know when or why it changed but I don't think that it's a secret that Southern Democrats were as racist as they came until way into the 20th century. (I did research on Florida for a different reason but there's a long list of Democrat Governors, Senators and Representitives for the first half of the 20th century and I'd assume it looks pretty much the same if you check the other former confederate states).
 
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That's quite a feat. His friends were not just those who agreed with him, but those with quite different points of view. He will be sorely missed.

There were many of us dem liberals who admired the Senator. He made two huge mistakes: the Iraq war and Sarah Palin. He worked hard for two things I really believe in, campaign finance reform and gun control (and both took some huge cojones for a Republican.)

Among my friends in DC, most of whom are also dem liberals, the positive sentiments expressed about McCain are pretty consistent. He was honorable, patriotic, straightforward by politician standards and a good human being. Everything the current president is not.

I would love for the office building to be renamed for McCain. Ben Sasse said last night on NPR that the abbreviation would then be SOB McCain, and he would have loved that. :)
 
The speech by Grant Woods (Former Chief of Staff for McCain) was wonderful.

Tony Espinoza was funny and eloquent.

The Native music was beautiful.
 
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Joe Biden's eulogy was extraordinary; especially the third section, directed at Donald Trump.

I wonder if this thread should be in Politically Incorrect now? I watched it until 2:00. Yes, Biden's "eulogy" was moving and on point, but getting too much like a campaign speech. I recorded it until 4:00 and left. I'll watch the rest later. I'm sure the pertinent sections will be on every show on MSNBC tonight though.
 
I wonder if this thread should be in Politically Incorrect now? I watched it until 2:00. Yes, Biden's "eulogy" was moving and on point, but getting too much like a campaign speech. I recorded it until 4:00 and left. I'll watch the rest later. I'm sure the pertinent sections will be on every show on MSNBC tonight though.

John McCain transcended politics. He was a hero to many who had no interest in politics, so I think OTBT is the right forum for his RIP thread. It is a good place to express condolences and gratitude to a hero and his family.
 
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While driving to the Doctor's office on I 17, there were flashing signs on the highway at lots of places saying - "Country first. Rest in Peace Senator McCain". It was very touching. He was such an integral part of Arizona!

For once I have wished that I lived in either north or central Phoenix. Could have gone to the memorial to place flowers and the senate building to pay respects.

ETA- Some homes in my neighborhood have put up the flags to honor McCain. One house though had a flag with just one red stripe (center) and all the other stripes were black- I assume to indicate mourning, but I have never seen anythi g like this before. I did not like the change in the color of the stripes. Has anyone seen anything like this?
 
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I remember when he ran for President against Obama how the press made fun of him because of his age and would point out his physical shortcomings like the fact that he couldn't lift his arms above his head. Then they questioned his service saying it was his fault that he was captured. Now that he is dead, they say all these nice things about him. Politics in the US is so phony.
 
We are three hours behind. When I got up this morning, I forgot about the memorial in DC. It was past 11am when I turned on the TV. I missed All the eulogies :(. I did see the be eduction and the family and politicians paying respects to McCain. The most touching moment for me was 106 years old Roberta McCain, in a wheel chair, near her son's casket, very dignified and making a cross.
 

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