John McCain funeral: Barack Obama FULL eulogy

to Jon's beloved family mrs. McCain to Cindy and the McCain children president mrs. Bush president Secretary Clinton vice president and mrs. Biden vice president mr. Cheney Vice President Gore and as John would say my friends we come to celebrate an extraordinary man a warrior a statesman a patriot who embodied so much that is best in America President Bush and I are among the fortunate few who competed against John at the highest levels of politics he made us better presidents just as he made the Senate better just as he made this country better so for someone like John to ask you while he's still alive to stand and speak of him when he's gone is a precious and singular honor now when John called me with that request earlier this year I'll admit sadness and also a certain surprise but after our conversation ended I realized how well it captured some of John's essential qualities to start with John liked being unpredictable even Lowell contrary he had no interest in conforming to some prepackaged version of what a senator should be and he didn't want a memorial that was going to be prepackaged either it also showed John's disdain for self-pity he had been to hell and back and yet somehow never lost his energy or his optimism or his zest for life so cancer did not scare him and he would maintain that buoyant spirit to the very end too stubborn to sit still opinionated as ever fiercely devoted to his friends and most of all to his family it showed his irreverence his sense of humor a little bit of a mischievous streak after all what better way to get a last laugh than to make George and I say nice things about him to a national audience and most of all it showed a large inist of spirit an ability to see past differences in search of common ground and in fact on the surface John and I could not have been more different were of different generations I came from a broken home and never knew my father John was the sky an of one of America's most distinguished military families I have a reputation for keeping cool John not so much we were standard bearers of different American political traditions and throughout my presidency John never hesitated to tell me when he thought I was screwing up which by his calculation was about once a day but for all our differences for all the times we sparked I never tried to hide and I think John came to understand the long-standing admiration that I had for him by his own account John was a rebellious young man in his case that's understandable what faster way to distinguish yourself when you're the son and grandson of admirals then to mutiny eventually though he concluded that the only way to really make his mark on the world is to commit to something bigger than yourself and for John that meant answering the highest of callings serving his country in a time of war others this week and this morning have spoken to the depths of his torment and the depths of his courage there in the cells of Hanoi when day after day year after year that youthful iron was tempered into steel and it brings to mind something that Hemingway wrote and the book that Megan referred to his favorite book today is only one day in all the days that will ever be but what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today in captivity John learned in ways that few of us ever will the meaning of those words how each moment each day each choice is a test and John McCain passed that test again and again and again and that's why when John spoke of virtues like service and duty it didn't ring hollow they weren't just words to him it was a truth that he had lived and for which he was prepared to die and it forced even the most cynical to consider what were we doing for our country what might we risk everything for now much has been said this week about what a maverick John was now in fact John was a pretty conservative guy trust me I was on the receiving end of some of those votes but he did understand that some principles transcend politics that some values transcend party he considered it part of his duty to uphold those principles and uphold those values John cared about the institutions of self-government our Constitution our Bill of Rights rule of law separation of powers even the arcane rules and procedures of the Senate he knew that in a nation as big and boisterous and diverse as ours those institutions those rules those norms are what bind us together that gives shape and order to our common life even when we disagree especially when we disagree John believed in honest argument and hearing other views he understood that if we get in the habit of bending of the truth to suit political expediency or party orthodoxy our democracy will not work that's why I was willing to buck his own party at times occasionally work across the aisle on campaign finance reform and immigration reform that's why he championed a free and independent press as vital to our democratic debate and the fact that it earned him some good coverage didn't hurt either John understood as JFK understood as Ronald Reagan understood that part of what makes our country great is that our membership is based not on our bloodline not on what we look like what our last name SAR it's not based on where our parents or grandparents came from or how recently they arrived but on adherence to a common creed that all of us are created equal endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights it's been mentioned today and we've seen footage this week of John pushing back against supporters who challenged my patriotism during the 2008 campaign that was grateful but I wasn't surprised as Joe Lieberman said it was John's instinct I never saw John treat anyone differently because of their race or religion or gender and I'm certain that in those moments that have been referred to during the campaign he saw himself as defending America's character not just mine pre considered it the imperative of every citizen who loves this country to treat all people fairly and finally while John and I disagreed on all kinds of foreign policy issues we stood together on America's role as the one indispensable nation believing that with great power and great blessings comes great responsibility that burden is borne most heavily by our men and women in uniform service members like Doug Jimmy and Jack who followed their father's footsteps as well as the families who serve alongside our troops but John understood that our security and our influence was one not just by our military might not just by our wealth not just by our ability to bend others to our will but from our capacity to inspire others with our adherence to a set of universal values like rule of law and human rights and an insistence on the god-given dignity of every human being and of course John was the first to tell us that he was not perfect like all of us who go into public service he did have an ego like all of us there was no doubt some votes he cast some compromises he struck some decisions he made that he wished he could add back it's no secret it's been mentioned that he had a temper and when it flared up it was a force of nature a wonder to behold his jaw grinding his face reddening his eyes boring a hole right through you not that I ever experienced it firsthand mind you but to know John was to know that as quick as his passions might flare he was just as quick to forgive and ask for forgiveness he knew more than most his own flaws in his blind spots he knew how to laugh at himself and that self-awareness made him all the more compelling yeah we didn't advertise it but every so often over the course of my presidency John would come over to the White House and we just sit and talk in the Oval Office just the two of us we talk about policy and we talk about family and we talk about the state of our politics and our disagreements didn't go away during these private conversations those were real and they were often deep but we enjoyed the time we shared away from the bright lights and we laughed with each other and we learned from each other and we never doubted the other man's sincerity or the other man's patriotism or that when all was said and done we were on the same team we never doubted we were on the same team for all of our differences we shared a fidelity to the ideals for which generations of Americans have marched and fought and sacrificed and given their lives we considered our political battles a privilege an opportunity to serve as stewards of those ideals here at home and to do our best to advance them around the world we saw this country as a place where anything is possible and citizenship citizenship as an obligation to ensure it forever remains that way and more than once during his career John drew comparisons to Teddy Roosevelt and I'm sure it's been noted that Roosevelt's man in the arena oration seems tailored to John most of you know it Roosevelt speaks and those who strive who dare to do great things who sometimes win and sometimes come up short but always relish a good fight a contrast to those cold timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat isn't that this spirit we celebrate this week that's striving to be better to do better to be worthy of the great inheritance that our founders bestowed so much of our politics our public life our public discourse can seem small and mean and petty trafficking and bombast and insulin in phony controversies and manufactured outrage it's a politics that pretends to be brave and tough but in fact is born of fear John called on us to be bigger than that he called on us to be better than that today is only one day and all the days that we'll ever be but what will happen in all the other days that will ever come can depend on what you do today what better way to honor John McCain's life of service then as best we can follow his example to prove that the willingness to get in the arena and fight for this country is not reserved for the few it is open to all of us that in fact it's demanded of all of us as citizens of this great Republic that's perhaps how we honor investment by recognizing that there are some things bigger than party or ambition or money or fame or power that there are some things that are worth risking everything for principles that are eternal truths that are abiding that is best John showed us what that means for that we are all deeply in his debt may God bless John McCain may God bless this country he served so well [Applause]

Channel: Global News

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Keywords: Barack Obama, Barack Obama speech, Obama speech McCain funeral, Barack Obama John McCain, Best Obama speech, John McCain funeral, Obama eulogy, McCain funeral, McCain funeral Wasington Cathedral, National Cathedral, Obama speech, Global News, World News, Breaking News, Recommended for you, Viral, Trending, Breaking News Today, News Headlines, Today News, Current News, ABC News, CNN, Fox News, NBC News, World News Today, International News

Id: raDyWogvQ2Y

Length: 19min 55sec (1195 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 01 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

Amazingly well-thought out and delivered. Man, I miss speeches like that.

[u/epiphinehas]

Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan are catatonic throughout Obama's speech. It's as if they're imprisoned by their own self-awareness. You can almost see the little voice inside their heads talking: "Was that a subtle dig at me? Don't move, don't move, the cameras are on you right now. Keep your cool, you'll get through this. Don't give away anything, face! Don't you dare twitch and give the internets something to meme about."

[u/eastbayted]

I'm sure you've all seen the complaints about a DEMOCRAT having the audacity to be political at McCain's funeral. Meanwhile, it was a Republican president who first disrespected McCain by raising the flags so soon after his passing. More important, John's own daughter got "political" at the funeral. I suspect John would not mind his funeral being used as a place to call out Trump for the ways he's destroying everything this country stands for.

[u/lasagna_peas]

Pretty disrespectful to a man of honor and service that he soiled the moment by talking about his ratings. Nah, just kidding that was the crazy pile of jello and orange peels occupying the white house currently.

[u/babiesmakinbabies]

I can't even imagine what a dumpster fire it would be if Trump spoke at this funeral.

[u/JoeBenigo]

President Obama said that he never questioned, despite disagreements, if he and Senator McCain were on the same side. If any one believes that this is a statement about what "side" Trump is on, it shows they've thought about or questioned Trump's loyalty. If his supporters take offense, they're admitting it should be questioned because there is nothing damning in President Obama's comment by itself.

[u/JavascriptFanboy]

Reading what McCain had gone through as a POW, you realize what a piece of shit Trump is. He'd piss himself just flying that bomber. If he ever would be captured he'd switch to the enemy's side in no time. RIP McCain, he truly represented the best of USA.

[u/brandvegn]

Eloquent and, above all, honest. He honored the man and did not shy away from the complicated relationship they had. Barack Obama's speeches are always balanced with enough heft and levity to make 20 minutes seem like 2.

[u/panicineedlepark]

Thank you president.