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Shame on the White House for disrespecting McCain

2 min read
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“It doesn’t matter, he’s dying anyway!”

White House aide Kelly Sadler continues to work there after her cruel and insensitive remark regarding a true American hero, Sen. John McCain. Why is McCain’s struggle with brain cancer so humorous to her? She has proven herself unfit for further government service at such a high level. So it is inexplicable that she remains in her current position.

Where are the voices of condemnation from Capitol Hill by McCain’s GOP colleagues. Unlike Joe Biden and other Democratic voices, they are silent. This is a truly regrettable period in American history when a five-year American prisoner of Hanoi’s torture chambers is mocked in his final days. Shame! Shame! Shame!

Donald Trump himself has denigrated McCain, time and again, denying his hero status and regularly ridicules the Arizona senator for positions and votes on the issues. Joseph Welch, special counsel for the U.S. Army, confronted another such demagogue, Sen. Joseph McCarthy, in June 1954. In a hearing over supposed communist infiltration of the American military, Welch said, “Until this moment, senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?”

Is this the type of change that Americans voted for in 2016? If we are to believe Trump’s words, and these days that requires a real stretch of the imagination, he respects and honors the service of our armed forces. You would think that would also extend to veterans, especially former POWS like McCain. Shortly after his plane was shot down during a bombing mission over North Vietnam, John McCain was offered release by his captors, due to the fact that his father was an admiral in the U.S. Navy. But the gutsy Air Force pilot refused freedom if he was to leave behind his fellow American prisoners. You cannot fake that kind of bravery, dedication, and love for his comrades in those dark days of endless torture. Five years of such a life is a heavy price to pay. But then again, true leaders and patriots like the Arizona senator are hard to find in our political landscape today. In years to come, McCain’s legendary life will be long remembered while Donald Trump’s presidency may well be a mere asterisk in U.S. history.

Carl Haberl

Washington

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