Remembering the Maverick

My introduction to the life of Senator McCain came in an unlikely way. For much of my childhood I was scared of a book on my parent’s shelf – They Wouldn’t Let us Die. It sat on the shelf for years staring at me. I wondered what stories were told in such a book. I was almost too afraid to let my imagination wonder on the subject for fear that I might never recover.

At some point in high school I became brave enough to sneak it off the shelf to learn it was the story of American Prisoners of War in Vietnam. I was mostly interested in the story of a close family friend who I had heard great stories about but never met – Bob Craner. As it turned out John McCain’s life was closely tied to Bob Craner as the were in neighboring cells.

The book made an impression on me – the extreme torture these men survived and the isolation they faced was unbelievable.

Nearly 20 years later our firm had the opportunity to work with Senator McCain on his presidential campaign. My partners were always the leads on the race but I was always proud to tell anyone who would listen that he was our client. We were along for the ride during the high points (when he was the presumptive nominee and then the campaign went south) and we were there when things went bad. I’ll never forget the intern driving Senator McCain that went the wrong way down a one-way street or the time a car wouldn’t start and both times the Senator walked humbly to his events.

And there was the time a radio station gave out our phone number urging callers to complain that Senator McCain wanted to give amnesty to illegal immigrants. It shut down our phone lines for two days.

After his loss in 2008, I watched with great disappointment as warring factions blamed each other but witnessed McCain’s grace and understanding as he humbly accepted defeat.

Later when we worked on his re-election campaign I remember seeing the negative ads against his opponent being generated non-stop, even when the election appeared in hand. This was a guy who knew how to win an election and wasn’t going to let it slip away.

As I’ve been reflecting on the last 24 hours since his death I can’t help but wonder. Who will take up Senator McCain’s call for spreading freedom in the world?

He lived an examined life – regretting that he did not denounce the Confederate flag in 2000 led to his strength in 2008 when setting the woman straight when she said Barack Obama was a Muslim.

Like the rest of us, he was a flawed but he lived a life dedicated to a higher purpose and I respect that more than anything.

We lost an American hero yesterday, but hopefully the stories of his life will inspire others to engage for causes greater than ourselves.