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| Now Trump is relying on his fiercest opponent – John McCain | Now Trump is relying on his fiercest opponent – John McCain |
| (11 days later) | |
| John McCain was guaranteed a hero’s welcome in Washington when he returned for today’s crucial Senate vote. His disclosure, just days earlier, that he had been diagnosed with brain cancer, had prompted an outpouring of tributes to the veteran senator whose whole adult life, it sometimes seemed, had been spent cheating death. | John McCain was guaranteed a hero’s welcome in Washington when he returned for today’s crucial Senate vote. His disclosure, just days earlier, that he had been diagnosed with brain cancer, had prompted an outpouring of tributes to the veteran senator whose whole adult life, it sometimes seemed, had been spent cheating death. |
| Delighted as Senate Republicans – and not just Republicans – would have been to welcome McCain back among them, however, what they needed still more than his physical presence was his vote. With Republicans enjoying only a narrow majority in the upper chamber, and that majority set to be pared back further by a number of dissenters, McCain’s vote could make the difference between victory and defeat. A tie would be good enough, because the vice-president has a casting vote, but even that was by no means certain. | Delighted as Senate Republicans – and not just Republicans – would have been to welcome McCain back among them, however, what they needed still more than his physical presence was his vote. With Republicans enjoying only a narrow majority in the upper chamber, and that majority set to be pared back further by a number of dissenters, McCain’s vote could make the difference between victory and defeat. A tie would be good enough, because the vice-president has a casting vote, but even that was by no means certain. |
| There are shades here of ailing MPs being wheeled into the House of Commons direct from hospital to ensure that John Major’s precarious government did not fall. John McCain’s entry may have been rather more dignified, but it was hardly less needed. | There are shades here of ailing MPs being wheeled into the House of Commons direct from hospital to ensure that John Major’s precarious government did not fall. John McCain’s entry may have been rather more dignified, but it was hardly less needed. |
| There was much dark irony, here, too. It was not only that the vote in question would be about healthcare – a stage in the survival, or not, of the extension of health insurance known as Obamacare. It was also that the ailing senator would be on the side of those intending to kill off a programme that had brought an estimated 22 million people into the healthcare system. | There was much dark irony, here, too. It was not only that the vote in question would be about healthcare – a stage in the survival, or not, of the extension of health insurance known as Obamacare. It was also that the ailing senator would be on the side of those intending to kill off a programme that had brought an estimated 22 million people into the healthcare system. |
| Most of all, though, it was that, in so voting, McCain would be helping to keep alive, for a while at least, one of Donald Trump’s signature election promises. He would thus be bolstering a president whose number one opponent – both personal and political – he has otherwise become. | Most of all, though, it was that, in so voting, McCain would be helping to keep alive, for a while at least, one of Donald Trump’s signature election promises. He would thus be bolstering a president whose number one opponent – both personal and political – he has otherwise become. |
| This is one reason why there have been bitter and incredulous comments from admirers on “the other side of the aisle”. Could it really be that one of the last political acts of John McCain would be to save the bacon of the president so many Democrats hate? Worse still, the effect of that vote would be to make it more likely that many of the people who benefited from the Obamacare reforms would lose their health coverage, and find themselves facing the same sort of risky existence they were took for granted before the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010. This is why there has been dissension in (some) Republican ranks on this vote. But could this be McCain’s legacy? | This is one reason why there have been bitter and incredulous comments from admirers on “the other side of the aisle”. Could it really be that one of the last political acts of John McCain would be to save the bacon of the president so many Democrats hate? Worse still, the effect of that vote would be to make it more likely that many of the people who benefited from the Obamacare reforms would lose their health coverage, and find themselves facing the same sort of risky existence they were took for granted before the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010. This is why there has been dissension in (some) Republican ranks on this vote. But could this be McCain’s legacy? |
| The sense of betrayal stands to be all the greater because McCain has shown himself, since the election, to be such an effective and consistent adversary of Donald Trump, a real rallying point for a multifarious opposition. | The sense of betrayal stands to be all the greater because McCain has shown himself, since the election, to be such an effective and consistent adversary of Donald Trump, a real rallying point for a multifarious opposition. |
| Neither are denizens of Washington; neither are shrinking violets, and they both tend to speak their mind | Neither are denizens of Washington; neither are shrinking violets, and they both tend to speak their mind |
| The contrast between the two men could hardly be greater, in almost every respect: McCain, the scion of a distinguished military family, who became a national hero for his resilience under torture as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, is regarded by many, including those outside his own party, as the very model of a principled American. He is ideally matched to his adopted state, which he has represented in the House and Senate for more than 30 years. Arizona, by virtue of the liberalism and conservatism that exist side by side, reflects all the contradictions in McCain’s own politics that have sealed his reputation as a maverick whose support crosses party lines. | The contrast between the two men could hardly be greater, in almost every respect: McCain, the scion of a distinguished military family, who became a national hero for his resilience under torture as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, is regarded by many, including those outside his own party, as the very model of a principled American. He is ideally matched to his adopted state, which he has represented in the House and Senate for more than 30 years. Arizona, by virtue of the liberalism and conservatism that exist side by side, reflects all the contradictions in McCain’s own politics that have sealed his reputation as a maverick whose support crosses party lines. |
| Trump, on the other hand, is a largely self-made businessman, who avoided the Vietnam draft, and has been dogged by allegations about how his business practices. He hardly appears a model of personal, let alone political, discipline and seems to run the presidency almost as a personal court. The places he calls home – New York and his Florida estate – could not be further from McCain’s beloved Sedona. | Trump, on the other hand, is a largely self-made businessman, who avoided the Vietnam draft, and has been dogged by allegations about how his business practices. He hardly appears a model of personal, let alone political, discipline and seems to run the presidency almost as a personal court. The places he calls home – New York and his Florida estate – could not be further from McCain’s beloved Sedona. |
| Yet there are also similarities. Neither are denizens of Washington; neither are shrinking violets, and they both tend to speak their mind – McCain named his 2000 presidential campaign bus the Straight Talk Express to set himself apart. And they both draw support beyond conventional party lines. | Yet there are also similarities. Neither are denizens of Washington; neither are shrinking violets, and they both tend to speak their mind – McCain named his 2000 presidential campaign bus the Straight Talk Express to set himself apart. And they both draw support beyond conventional party lines. |
| Which may help to explain why – even as McCain attacked Trump as much on ethical as on political differences – Trump let him speak. It may also explain why, following the news of McCain’s illness, the president has adopted a tone that is almost gracious. And this from a man who once challenged McCain’s status as national hero, insisting that heroes didn’t get captured. | Which may help to explain why – even as McCain attacked Trump as much on ethical as on political differences – Trump let him speak. It may also explain why, following the news of McCain’s illness, the president has adopted a tone that is almost gracious. And this from a man who once challenged McCain’s status as national hero, insisting that heroes didn’t get captured. |
| Of course, Trump needs McCain’s vote if his promise to repeal Obamacare is to advance. But is it too much to hope that, in almost a year of political duelling, Trump has come to appreciate his foe – and when he tweeted: “So great that John McCain is coming back to vote. Brave – American hero! Thank you John”, that is no more nor less than what he meant? | Of course, Trump needs McCain’s vote if his promise to repeal Obamacare is to advance. But is it too much to hope that, in almost a year of political duelling, Trump has come to appreciate his foe – and when he tweeted: “So great that John McCain is coming back to vote. Brave – American hero! Thank you John”, that is no more nor less than what he meant? |
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