OPINION:
The late Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican and former presidential candidate, was always a breath of fresh air. What you saw was what you got with the “Straight Talk Express.” Mr. McCain could work across the aisle with Democratic Senate colleagues, including Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman and others, on a regular basis. His across-the-aisle partners also included Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy on comprehensive immigration reform and Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold on campaign finance reform. Mr. McCain’s history in the Senate harkens back to an age of collegiality no longer seen today. Like New York’s late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Mr. McCain was an intellectual giant standing head and shoulders above today’s newer generation of senators.
In our era of highly partisan politics, let’s hope that congressional members from different parties can honor Mr. McCain’s memory. It is time to move beyond rigid ideological commitments and come together on behalf of all Americans. Mr. McCain was a role model others should be emulating. With his death, Diogenes has resumed the search for an honest man.
LARRY PENNER
Great Neck, N.Y.
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