A Contender by Any Name

In 1955, a U.S. Senate committee led by John F. Kennedy ’40 was commissioned to create a list of the five greatest senators in the legislative body’s history. Kennedy discussed the committee’s criteria in selecting these five Senate members—who turned out to be Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster, Robert Taft, and Robert La Follette, Sr.—in an article for the New York Times Magazine. The chosen senators, Kennedy wrote, displayed “statesmanship transcending party and State lines” and “leadership in national thought and constitutional interpretation as well as legislation.”

Whether John McCain fits this description and is worthy of such distinguished company is a question best left to historians far more knowledgeable than I, but, if the Arizona senator had any chance of one day joining this senatorial “hall of fame”—since expanded to include Arthur Vandenberg and Robert Wagner—prior to this year’s presidential campaign, his defeat in last Tuesday’s election saved it. By losing to Barack Obama, and losing gracefully, McCain virtually erased any ill will he created through his poorly run and often tactless campaign, ensuring that history will view his legacy generously.

In the ten minutes McCain took to deliver his concession speech last Tuesday night, he put to rest the crotchety, erratic old man who called the fundamentals of our broken economy “sound” and in an ill-advised, rash decision picked a running mate who, after giving the Republican ticket an initial boost, proved to be a dubious, and even dangerous, choice. Back was the dignified statesman of unparalleled courage and integrity, the maverick we knew before the word “maverick” became a punchline, and the bipartisan unifier calling for the nation to “work together to get our country moving again.”

In defeat, McCain reinvigorated a public image that was already suffering and likely would have been further tarnished if he were to become President. Had he won, McCain would have inherited a hostile Congress, a divided nation, and a bleak immediate future for the United States clouded by a financial crisis, two wars, and the country’s diminished standing in the world.

For Obama, his victory in itself has begun to alleviate some of these problems, but while he will have more of an opportunity to determine his own success or failure than a President McCain would have, he certainly faces a daunting challenge in his first term. The high expectations Obama has set for his presidency have created a situation in which anything but the wildest success may be deemed a failure. His lofty goals and idealistic promises have put the President-elect in a precarious position—by the end of his administration, Obama may be viewed as one of the greatest or worst to ever hold office.

McCain, on the other hand, may comfortably take his place in the illustrious line of great senators to run for the presidency and lose.

Like Clay, “The Great Compromiser,” McCain will be remembered for his efforts to reach across party lines in the spirit of doing what is best for the nation, such as when he worked alongside Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy ’54-56 towards immigration reform and wrote the legislation that created the 9/11 Commission with then-Democrat Joe Lieberman.

Like La Follette, a legendary reformer, McCain will be remembered as a crusader who took on corruption in Washington by enacting campaign-finance reform with the McCain-Feingold Act and speaking out against pork barrel spending.

These accomplishments, along with his reputation as a war hero, will surround McCain’s name in the history books while the mistakes and failures of his latest presidential run will be reduced to footnotes, if not completely forgotten.

One might claim that McCain’s pandering to the far right and his increasingly negative and divisive campaign tactics sullied his reputation and clouded his accomplishments as a senator. However, presidential losers are rarely remembered for long, and the final act of McCain the candidate was a positive one—the concession speech in which he returned to form in calling for unity during challenging times. The lasting image of McCain in the public’s perception and in the history books will be one of a dignified and independent-minded senator driven by his conscience rather than partisan politics and cronyism.

If there is a bright side to defeat for McCain, it is—barring any unforeseeable catastrophes in the twilight of his political career—that the senator’s case is closed and the ruling is favorable.

Now the burden of proof rests solely on the shoulders of President-elect Obama.

Loren Amor ’10, a Crimson sports associate editor, is a history and literature concentrator in Kirkland House.