John McCain conceded, and did so with brevity, grace and dignity -- taking personal responsibility for the results. His campaign was offensive to many in so many ways, and it is impossible to forget the indignities to which he subjected our democratic process. But just as we do not speak ill of the dead, I find it hard to speak ill of John McCain tonight.
When McCain spoke tonight of his willingness to "do all in my power to help [Obama] lead us through the many challenges we face," adding that he "urge[s] all Americans who supported me, to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next President our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together," I was reminded of an older McCain, the one we haven't seen this year, the one of 2000. It is beyond me, at this point, to say who the real McCain is. But I can imagine how I'd see him if I had been a little older in the late nineties, disillusioned with the failures of President Clinton and unsure of who would take up the standard of liberalism. McCain, rising up to strike a middle route -- rising up, lest we forget, to say say that the rich didn't deserve further tax cuts and that income inequality was a serious issue, might have appeared a welcome savior.
But those days are passed, and in his brief concession speech, McCain seemed more than ready to leave his campaign behind as well. I had expected, with the GOP fervor over ACORN and other voting issues, lawsuits to drag the election into a multi-day affair, but McCain has ended the process quickly. What remains is his Senate career, and no doubt the role he will play there will remain an important story in the coming year. He may yet redeem himself by playing a productive part in the new congress, but I doubt it.
In the end, he will find his place among the other deeply flawed politicians in our history, a man of extraordinary courage and promise corrupted by ambition, lacking the vision to see the true greatness of the American people. His campaign argued that small things, divisive things were the most important, while the great issues of our day were merely vessels for the will of a great man. But this was a great election, giving the American people the chance to rise above these small things and offer a testament to their own greatness by signaling their unity and willingness to look towards future progress with confidence, not fear. And so we bid goodbye to John McCain.
--Tim Fernholz
