To John's beloved family, Mrs. McCain, Cindy, to the McCain children, President Bush, President and Secretary Clinton, Vice President Biden, Vice President Mr. Cheney, Vice President Gore, and as John would say, my friends.
We come to celebrate an extraordinary man, a warrior, a statesman, a patriot, who embodied so much that is best in America. President Bush and I are among the fortunate few who competed against John at the highest levels of politics. He made us better presidents, just as he made the Senate better, just as he made this country better. So, for someone like John to ask you while he was still alive to stand and speak of him when he is gone, is a precious and singular honor. Now, when John called me with that request earlier this year, I admit sadness and also a certain surpri. But after our conversation ended, I realized how well it captured some of John's esntial qualities.
To start with, John liked being unpredictable, even a little contrarian. He had no interest in conforming to some prepackaged version of what a nate should be and he did not want a memorial that was gonna be prepackaged either. That also showed John’s disdain for lf-pity. He had been to hell and back, yet somehow never lost his energy, his optimism, or his zest for life. So cancer did not scare him, and he would maintain that buoyant spirit to the very end, too stubborn to sit still, opinionated as ever, fiercely devoted to his friends, and most of all to his family. It showed his irreverence, n of humor,
a little bit of mischievous stray, after all what better way to get the last laugh and make George and I say nice things about him to a national audience. [laughter] And most of all, it showed a largeness of spirit, an ability to e past differences in arch of common ground.
And in fact, on the surface, John and I could not have been more different. We were of different generations. I came from a broken home and never knew my father. John was the son of one of America's most distinguished military families. I had a reputation for keeping cool, John, not so much. [laughter] We were standard bearers of a different American political traditions. And throughout my presidency, John never hesitated to tell me when he thought I was screwing up, which by his calculation, was about once a day. But for all of our differences, for all of the times we sparred, I never tried to hide. And I think John came to understand the long-standing admiration that I had for him.
By his own account, John was a rebellious young man. In his ca, that is understandable. What faster way to distinguish yourlf when you are the son and grandson of admirals then to mutiny, eventually though, he concluded that the only way to really make his mark on the world is to commit to something bigger than yourlf. And for John, that meant answering the highest of calls, rving his country in a time of war. Others
this week, and this morning, have spoken to the depths of his torment, and the depths of his courage there in the cells of Hanoi, when day after day, year after year, that uful iron was tempered into steel. It brings to mind something that Hemingway wrote in the book that Megan referred to, his favorite book,“Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be, but what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today.” In captivity, John learned in ways that few of us ever will, the meaning of tho words. How each moment, each day, each choice is a test. And John McCain pasd that test again, and again, and again. And that is why when John spoke of virtues like rvice and duty, it did not ring hollow. They were not just words to him. It was a truth that he had lived, and for which he was prepared to die, and if forced, even the most cynical. To consider, what were we doing for our country? What might we risk everything for?
Much has been said this week about what a maverick John was. Now, in fact, John was a pretty conrvative guy. Trust me, I was on the receiving end of some of tho votes. But he did understand that some principles transcend politics, that some values transcend parties. He considered a part of his duty to uphold tho principles and uphold tho values. John cared about the institutions of lf-government, our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, rule of law, paration of powers, even the arcane rules and procedures of the nate. He knew that in a nation as big and boi
sterous and diver as ours, tho institutions, tho rules and tho norms are what bind us together and give shape and order to our common life, even when we disagree, especially when we disagree. John believed in honest argument and hearing other views. He understood that if we get in the habit of bending the truth to suit political expediency or party orthodoxy, our democracy will not work. That is why he was willing to buck his own party at times, occasionally work across the aisle on campaign finance reform and immigration reform. That is why he championed a free and independent press as vital to our democratic debates. And the fact that it earned him some good coverage did not hurt either. John understood, as JFK understood, as Ronald Reagan understood, that part of what makes our country great is that our membership is bad not on our bloodline, not on what we look like, what our last names are, not bad on where our parents or grandparents came from, or how recently they arrived, but on adherence to a common creed. That all of us are created equal, and thou by our creator, with certain inalienable rights. It has been mentioned today, and we have en footage this week of John pushing back against supporters who challenged my patriotism during the 2008 campaign. I was grateful, but I was not surprid. As Joe Lieberman said, it was John's instinct. I never saw John treat anyone differently becau of their race or religion, or gender. And I am certain that in tho moments that have been
referred to during the campaign, he saw himlf as defending America's character, not just mine. He considered it the imperative of every citizen who loved this country to treat all people fairly.
And finally, while John and I disagreed on all kinds of foreign-policy issues, we stood together on America's role as the one indispensable nation, believing that the great power and great blessings comes great responsibility. That burden is born most heavily by our men and women in uniform, rvice members like Doug, Jimmy, and Jack, who follow their father's footsteps, as well as the families who rved alongside our troops. But John understood that our curity and our influence was one, not just by our military might, not just by our wealth, not just by our abilities to bend others to our will, but from our capacity to inspire others, with our adherence to a t of universal values, like rule of law and human rights, and insistence on the God-given dignity of every human being.
Of cour, John was the first to tell us he was not perfect. Like all of us who go into public rvice, he did have an ego. Like all of us, there was no doubt some vote he cast, some compromis he struck, some decisions he made that he wished he could have back. It is no cret. It has been mentioned that he had a temper. When it flared up, it was a force of nature, a wonder to behold. His jaw grinding, his face reddening, his eyes boring a hole right through you, not that I ever experience it firsthand, mind you. [laughter] But to know John was to know that as quick as his passions might fl
are, he was just as quick to forgive and ask for forgiveness. He knew more than most his own flaws in his blind spots, and he knew how to laugh at himlf. And that lf-awareness made him all the more compelling. We did not adverti it. But every so often over the cour of my presidency, John would come over to the White Hou, and we would just sit and talk in the Oval Office, just two of us. And we would talk about policy, and we would talk about family, and we would talk about the state of our politics. And our disagreements did not go away during the private conversations. Tho were real, and they were often deep. But we enjoyed the time we shared away from the bright lights, and we laughed with each other, and we learned from each other.
We never doubted the other man's sincerity, or the other man's patriotism, or that when all was said and done, we were on the same team. We never doubted we were on the same team. For all of our differences, we shared a fidelity to the ideals for which generations of Americans have marched and fought, and sacrificed, and given their lives. We considered our political battles a privilege, an opportunity to rve as the source of tho ideals here at home, and to do our best to advance them around the world. We saw this country as a place where anything is possible, and citizenship as an obligation to ensure it forever remains that way. And more than once during his career, John drew comparisons to Teddy Roovelt. I am sure it
has been noted that Roovelt's “Man in the Arena” oration ems tailored to John. Most of you know it, Roovelt’s speaks of “tho who strive, who dare to do great things, who sometimes win and sometimes come up short, but always relish the good fight. A contrast to tho cold, timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” Isn't that the spirit we celebrate this week? that striving to be better? to do better? to be worthy of the great inheritance that our founders bestowed? So much of our politics, our public life, our public discour can em small and mean, and petty trafficking and bombast, and insults, and phony controversies, and manufactured outrage. It is a politics that pretends to be brave, and tough, but in fact is born fear. John called on us to be bigger than that. He called on us to be better than that. “Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that will ever come can depend on what you do today.”
What better way to honor John McCain's life of rvice than as best we can? Follow his example. To prove that the willingness to get in the arena and fight for this country is not rerved for the few. It is open to all of us. In fact, it is demanded of all of us as citizens of this great republic. That is perhaps how we honor him best. By recognizing that there are some things bigger than party, or ambition, or money, or fame, or power, that there are some things that are worth risking everything for, principles that are eternal, truths that are abiding. At his best, John showed us what that means. For that, we ar
e all deeply in his debt. May god bless John McCain. May god bless this country he rved so well. [applau] [drumming] (music)
