Out of respect for the mourning period honoring Sen. John McCain, I withheld the publishing of this follow-on to my initial post on August 25, 2018.

I thought the week-long remembrance of John McCain was a bit much. It was created and written for television by John McCain.

It’s common for people to leave dying wishes for friends and family members to give eulogies or ask that a favorite song be sung, but McCain produced, for all practical purposes a mini-series, with every detail choreographed down to the salute carried on the highway overhead electronic message board seen as the procession passed by on the way to the airport.

“McCain staged his death like the final act of Shakespeare’s Richard III, every legitimate force in the state, living and dead, combined against the wicked king,” wrote David Frum.

Regular readers of Kramerontheright will recall reading of my disappointment in my senator, John McCain, who I believe politicized his grudge with President Trump when he made his dramatic late-night appearance on the floor of the Senate to give his thumbs down vote that killed the repeal of ObamaCare.

I found it ironic that he passed away eight years to the day he vowed to the nation that he would “repeal and replace ObamaCare.” Click here to view his promise.

I have said that I believe Senator McCain developed a deep-seated hate for President Trump that began during the 2016 campaign when candidate Trump foolishly insulted McCain’s POW experience. I deeply understand how this hurt the senator and his family.

We were reminded of McCain’s character over and over during the week with stories we have heard over and over again. Granted, the character he exhibited as a prisoner in the “Hanoi Hilton” was remarkable.

But what kind of person decides to take revenge on a critic by using his vote on vital legislation he earlier promised to kill?

What kind of person disinvites the president of the United States to his funeral? What happened to respect for the office?

Further, this man who choreographed his own funeral, decided that he didn’t want Sarah Palin, the woman he chose to be his running mate, to attend the funeral. One can disagree with his choice of her as his running mate, but it was Palin who brought out the crowds during his campaign.

Among the memories of the senator’s career this week was a news clip of his 2008 presidential concession speech, in which he said, “I wish God speed to the man (Barack Obama) who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties but to believe always in the promise and greatness of America.”

In a more recent time, McCain’s character did not permit him to call President Trump “my president,” nor encourage people “not to despair” (about Trump), but to believe in the promise and greatness of America called for by the man who wants to Make America Great Again.

To me this reveals a flaw in his character.

Even in death, his final message carried a not-so-veiled message directed at President Trump. “We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe.

“We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change that have always been.”

I’m not alone in my criticism of McCain.

“His behavior, especially after Donald Trump became the Republican nominee and then President, was in my judgment petty, self-aggrandising, and harmful to the country.” – Roger Kimball

Time and time again, McCain talked about working across the aisle in the spirit of bipartisan cooperation. “Let’s trust each other,” he once said. I thought of that on Friday, as I watched “old Washington” gather to honor McCain as his body lie in state in the Capitol rotunda. There they were … Schumer, Durbin, Leahy and yes, McConnell.

Two former presidents – Barack Obama and George W. Bush – were personally invited by McCain to speak at Saturday’s memorial service at the National Cathedral. President Obama couldn’t resist taking a cheap shot President Trump.

   “So much of our politics, our public life, our public discourse can seem small and mean and petty. Trafficking in bombastic manufactured outrage, it’s politics that pretends to be brave and tough, but in fact is born of fear.” – President Obama

In her lengthy eulogy to her father, a vindictive Meagan McCain said, “The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great.” She hasn’t hidden her dislike of President Trump, referring to the “cheap rhetoric of men who will never come near the sacrifice he (her father) gave so willingly.”

“The saddest part was that John McCain’s daughter Meghan used a moment in her eulogy to bluntly attack Trump,” wrote Matt Margolis in PJ Media, “It’s hard to wrap my head around that fact that Meghan made the conscious decision to give the media, and basically the world, the opportunity to boil down her eulogy into a Trump smear rather than an ode to her father’s lifelong legacy. She just cemented her father’s legacy, not as a war hero and longtime U.S. senator, but as an enemy of Donald Trump.”

USA Today’s Susan Page seemed to take delight in stating, “At the memorial service he had carefully planned, John McCain managed to deliver a final and defiant rebuke to the man who wasn’t there, whose name was never uttered.”

McCain, like Teddy Kennedy, will soon disappear in what has become known as the dust-heap of history, but in the weeks ahead, colleagues  will all be citing the name of “their good friend” John McCain repeatedly as they push for bipartisanship. Remember that when the hearings for Judge Kavanaugh get underway this week. Remember too, President Obama’s curt reminder to McCain during the health care forum – “We’re not campaigning anymore. The election is over. I won.”

I once referred to McCain as a bitter old man. Perhaps if I were in his shoes I would be too. In fact, some of you may have a similar feeling toward me upon reading this post.

I believe McCain was a true war hero and a man who dedicated his life to public service. Like other elected officials, past and present, who haven’t always lived up to the values to which they ascribed, he will be remembered.

        May God bless John McCain and the United States of America.