John McCain (1936–2018)

I like John McCain; I voted for him in 2008. (In 12 other presidential elections I voted democrat 11 times). I respect him, I think he’s a hero. I believe he is truthful and loyal and a genuine patriot.

I am disappointed in “The Restless Wave”; I was expecting better. It rambles a lot and spends lots of time on some very old issues while revealing very little that is new. In the opening chapters, there is a rehash of the 2008 campaign and election and then an awful lot about the show more mid-East including Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan. Later there’s a good deal about Syria. McCain AND SALTER give lengthy summaries of these conflicts, and McCain is interjected into these chapters as a frequent visitor to the scene, a presence for a day or two every six months perhaps. Did he make a difference in any of these conflicts? Based on what I read here, not as much as I thought…..

There are chapters and passages though that are five star. He tells of battling with Ted Kennedy on the Senate floor then walking out together arm in arm, enjoying a laugh. He shares stories about Putin and pulls no punches, but then rambles into other areas. McCain shares some very touching, emotional moments, participating in a memorial service at Pearl Harbor and attending services and celebrations at some of our foreign bases when our guys re-up for another two years. He describes how the Senate really works, something that Barack Obama apparently didn’t understand in the early days and consequently was lectured not politely by some of the old pros, namely Kennedy and McCain. There is an especially good chapter on American exceptionalism. Those are great moments in the book; there just aren’t enough of them.

Surprisingly there is very little about Trump, and practically nothing on Russian interference in the 2016 election. A big disappointment for me. There are a lot of very good memoirs, histories, and bios (by Meacham, Albright, Comey, Zito, Haas, Clapper) out right now and McCain’s book suffers by comparison. Not what I was expecting. show less

I doubt anyone, even John McCain, can talk about something like courage without having the hollow ring of Hallmark platitudes...What sizzle that does exist in this book is the vividly told real-life stories of courage, generally in a framework of organized violence.

The Restless Wave - McCain/Salter
Audio performance by John McCain and Beau Bridges
3.5 stars

I surprised myself a bit. I watched every minute of John McCain’s memorial service. It wasn’t like me. I don’t own a television. Anything that I watch, rarely, is streamed through my laptop. I didn’t vote for the man. But, I remember when he came home from the war. I did think he would have been a good president. His election would not have frightened me. I still think that.

I don’t know show more exactly how long this co-written book was in the works, but from the forward to the final epilogue, it was written/edited as post cancer diagnosis. It would have benefitted from some editing of content. There was a great deal of repetition. There was a sense that McCain was making sure he said everything he needed to say while he still had time to say it.

Like most of the nation, I followed the 2008 presidential campaign closely, more than any other campaign in my lifetime. Consequently, I was bored with this book’s detailed replay of the entire year of primaries. I’d already read what McCain had to say about his vice presidential choice. He repeated himself in this book. He took full responsibility for any campaign mistakes. He had little to say about Sarah Palin, but what he did say was complimentary.

Despite much repetition throughout the book, I enjoyed McCain’s personal anecdotes, especially those about his political adversaries. He never made a personal comment that was derisive or critical. He was verbosely critical of policies in past and current administrations. Each time he lambasted past or present policy, he was clear about his reasons and he had an alternate solution. I learned some things from this book. I learned a bit more about senate traditions and procedures. McCain makes a point that seemingly archaic and obstructive procedures are exactly the process that allows compromises to happen. This assumes a willingness to make compromises. He deplored the ‘winner takes all’ position of our current situation. McCain planned his memorial service. He used it to make the case for bipartisan cooperation within our government. This memoir works very hard to make the same point.

I was aware of McCain’s foreign policy opinions. I was unaware of just how much time he and other policy makers spend in foreign travel. It just doesn’t register how much that is part of a senator’s work schedule when you hear about it in nightly sound bites. I got lost in the sheer number of journeys and meetings that he participated in. It all came down to his frequently repeated message: Putin is evil and dangerous; America should be active in promoting democracy worldwide even to the extent of using our military strength. Agree or disagree, the man believed this fervently, and he backed it up with personal observation as well as an accumulation of factual data. Nothing that I heard changed my own opinions, but it gave me more to think about. As the parent of a son in active service, I was touched by McCain’s frequent anecdotes and tributes to those who serve.

I had the audio of this book. McCain read the prolog and the epilog. That was heartrending. Beau Bridges was disappointing. He was mostly monotone and I felt that he was shouting at me. I also know that my attention wandered and with a text copy I would have skipped much of the tedious content. show less

I didn't grow up in a political household, politics, world views were rarely discussed. At least not in front of us children. Remember my mom swooning over the Kennedy's like many parents. That may be why I don't really affiliate with any political party. I tend to vote the issues and the person, their characters, their experience. In this way over the years I have come to admire John McCain. I didn't agree with all his views, all his stances, but I did recognize his grace, his strength, his show more integrity, his love for his job and his country, the people. He is now fighting a battle that may be his last, and the words in this book is what he wants to impart to those remaining. I knew I had to read them.

His book covers much, his career, his positions on various issues, leaders and the decisions he agreed and disagreed with, his family, his feelings, his diagnosis, and his hopes for the future, even if he is not there to see them. They are not written particularly well, but they are written with honesty, and wisdom. They are touching and stirring in their simplicity. The likes of men that this in our government, men who dedicate themselves to public service because they feel they can make a difference, not for vainglory, but for love of country, is near its end. The old vangaurd, I believe they call McCain, the lion of the Senate, is being replaced with people with little or no political experience, with millionaires and billionaires that can now buy our highest offices, at a state and federal level.

How can the country I live in still be considered a democracy? I fear when these elder stateman are gone, so too is the wisdom, the caring, and the dedication they provided.

His own words, "Above all else, we must stand in solidarity with the imprisoned, the silenced, the tortured, and the murdered because we are a country with a conscience."

I fear Senator McCain even before you leave this Earth, we are no longer that country. I want to thank you for your long service, and can do nothing but wish there were more men and women with a conscience leading our country today. show less