The McCain Guest List! Do You Really Care? Does it Really Matter?

By Rich Kozlovich

Yesterday Eliana Johnson  posted this article, "Top 2008 campaign aides shut out of McCain funeral" saying:

"Campaign manager Steve Schmidt, senior adviser Nicolle Wallace, and longtime strategist John Weaver were snubbed, as was former running mate Sarah Palin.  John McCain’s funeral will spotlight some of the late senator’s political rivals – but some of his closest campaign aides are being excluded from the proceedings.   Three of the most prominent members of his 2008 presidential campaign – campaign manager Steve Schmidt, senior adviser Nicolle Wallace, and longtime strategist John Weaver — were not invited to any of McCain’s services, according to three people familiar with the guest list."

My 93 year old mother uses a phrase I think fits this story: "This falls under the category of who gives a s..."!    And I agree! 

The author missed the real significance of all of this.  The real story about these former aides isn't who was invited, who was left out, who was told not to come, what they did, what they said to whom or about what.  The real story about these three former uninvited campaign aides is this:

"All three former McCain advisers are now affiliated with MSNBC."

Because the real story is about the actual character of John McCain!

Are we're to believe McCain hired people to get him elected President of the United States whose personal political views were philosophically antithetical to his own?  This is the real story, and this was the real McCain, and the real reason he lost the election.    People seem to forget it was reported an estimated  five to six million conservatives absolutely refused to vote for him.  Why?  Conservatives knew him for who he really was, and the rest of the country isn't Arizona. 

I'm willing to acknowledge hero status for his service, irrespective of all the counter claims, but having once been a hero doesn't give someone a pass on the rest of life.  And for most of his life I found him to be corrupt (Try the Lincoln Savings and Loan scandal, where the Phoenix New Times referred to him as the McCain: The Most Reprehensible of the Keating Five), vindictive, (Did Sarah Palin really deserve that, a must read article by Monica Showalter.) ungrateful, self serving, deceptive and untrustworthy, and many of those who are slobbering all over themselves to praise him now felt the same way, on both sides of the aisle.  Many of those who vilified him during his political career are now vilifying Trump for not slobbering over himself as they've done.  What they should be doing is praising Trump for being gracious about a man he most likely despised.

Trump saying, "My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain.  Our hearts and prayers are with you!", wasn't enough.  Flying the flag at half staff according the the protocol of the "1954 proclamation by then President Eisenhower" wasn't enough.    Not showing up at the funeral in spite of McCain's request he not attend wasn't the right thing to do.

It's clear no matter what Trump did it wasn't going to be enough to appease these hypocrites. 

Slobbering and absolute obeisance to the, "John McCain was the greatest American to have ever lived myth", was now called for, and demanded by these hypocrites.  And make no mistake about this - if he had done that they would have gleefully called him a hypocrite and would have claimed that was proof he wasn't worthy of the Presidency. 

The hypocrisy by the media and political cowards over McCain's life and death is gaggable, and now he will pass off into history - and I hope everyone will remember I said this.  The circus has left town, and history will not be kind to John McCain!   Not any more than it's been kind to Ted Kennedy. 

Another "lion" of the Senate.

One more thing.  Who started the war between McCain and Trump?