Disrespected By The Dead
Trump’s non invitation to John McCain’s funeral services was, of course, expected. The enmity between the two men was extreme and was no secret. And, although I am, by and large, an apologist for the President (often LITERALLY an apologist), I must say that McCain’s disdain for President Trump is justified. During the 2016 campaign, Candidate Trump made the outrageous statement that because McCain was taken prisoner of war in Vietnam (the plane he was piloting was SHOT DOWN), he was a “loser”, and he (Trump) “DIDN’T ‘LIKE’ LOSERS!”. WTF???? It’s one of the most egregious statements I’ve ever heard from a presidential candidate. Trump obviously conflated losing in the business world (often a result of errors or deficiencies on the part of the “loser”) with losing in war (where getting shot down is situational and NOT, for the most part, under the service man’s control). That McCain would, as a consequence, consider Trump repulsive, is, therefore, understandable.
One would have hoped, however, that McCain would have risen above his personal feelings and worked WITH Trump for the good of the Republican Party and the country. But he didn’t do so, trying to sabotage Trump at EVERY opportunity. Nor did he (McCain) acknowledge or showed any gratitude for the fact that Trump singlehandedly saved the Republican Party (and our Nation) from the disaster that would have resulted from another 8 years of the Obama agenda. (By the way, if the reader is skeptical that bad political agendas can and do destroy countries, consider Venezuela: before Hugo Chavez it was the richest Latin American country and the TWENTIETH RICHEST COUNTRY ON EARTH. After just 13 years of Chavez, Venezuelans are now STARVING). (Source: “Venezuela Before Chavez”, by Ricardo Hausmann, Penn State Press, 2014).
But rising above personal animosity was not something that McCain (who was also possessed of a notorious temper) did very often. So, not inviting President Trump to the services was a given. What is surprising, however, is the “non invitation” to Sarah Palin, his Vice Presidential Running mate in 2008. While it is true that his selection of Palin as VP candidate played a significant role in his loss to Obama, Palin campaigned long and hard for McCain, and tried her very best. Snubbing her was another thing that McCain SHOULD have risen above, but, obviously, didn’t. Palin, for her part, posted a gracious response to the snub, but, I’m sure, was VERY hurt by the slight. A more vindictive individual might have taken taken umbrage, and borrowed a line from the great American humorist, Mark Twain. The story is told that Twain was commenting to a friend about missing the funeral of someone he disliked, remarking:
“Although I won’t be attending the funeral, I must say…that I’m very much in favor OF IT”!