Redemption, humbled? I remember good coming from both of those men in their later years. Now they will NEVER get a pass or respect from those who claim to be so effing Christian. In fact, both Kennedy and McCain will be trashed by them.....by the fake Christian Repubs. Disgusting.
I'm certainly not a republican but I do call myself a Christian. They can both ask God for redemption. I'll give them both credit for the good things that they did in their lives but I damn well won't white-wash the bad. Teddy Kennedy was the worst of the two. A rich drunken frat-boy who felt entitled to the Presidency. Most people remember Teddy for Chappaquidick where he got drunk ran off a remote bridge with an intern in the car and left her to die while he sobered up. What price did he pay in this world? I think he lost his license for a while. That would be bad enough. But Teddy continued in the public life. He still felt entitled to be President. Most people don't know it but America would have had a national healthcare system back in the early 1970s had Kennedy not been instrumental in killing it -
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/...kennedy-the-man-who-killed-health-care-reform
Now I will give it to you that in the latter years of his life Teddy did a sh!t-ton of good for America. And he should be applauded for it. And although I felt that Ted Kennedy should have NEVER occupied elected office after Chappaquidick he did more good for America in his last 20 years than most politicians do in their lifetimes. That certainly went a long way to balance out the scale for me.
Now John McCain on the other hand. Like Teddy he was an entitled frat boy - He came from a distinguished military family and graduated at 894th out of the 899 graduates in 1958. He managed to crash 3 planes during his navy career. A pilot without his family connection would never have been put in charge of another plane after the first crash where he lost control of his plane. The very next year he collided with power lines while flying recklessly low over southern Spain. Again he was allowed to continue. In 1965 he crashed another plane, this time in Virginia.
McCain was a true hero though and did volunteer for the most dangerous flights. One of them ended up being shot down and him being held prisoner in Viet Nam. He was offered early release because the Vietnamese wanted to use it for propaganda but refused which resulted in them torturing him more. Over the years a few politicians have attempted to smear McCain's behavior in Viet Nam but that is bullsh!t. McCain acted honorably and suffered more than we can imagine.
McCain was a typical republican in most of his votes but went to a lot of trouble to claim the title of "Maverick" for those times he didn't go with the republican flow.
The last big thing did was run for President against Obama in 2008. In this he showed both his best and worst characteristics. His best? When a supporter (a typical republican racist) said of Obama “I have read about him and he’s not… he’s not… he’s an Arab. And…” McCain cut her off and said “No ma'am. He’s a decent family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues.” That was McCain at his very best. An American. His worst? By that time John McCain was a 71 year old SEVEN time cancer survivor. Someone in that position SHOULD have taken great care in choosing the person that would take over should they die. Who did McCain choose? Sarah Fvcking Palin. It is impossible to overstate how reckless that action was.
McCain ended his life on a high note giving a giant thumbs down to the repeal of Obamacare and saving America from at least that republican planned disaster.
Both Kennedy and McCain were like all of us - partly good and partly bad. I will praise the good that they did but will not forget the bad. YMMV
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