Former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) GOP primary victory over Tea Party challenger J.D. Hayworth came at a cost: About $20 million, plus more damage to his reputation as an independent-minded "maverick." But as he prepares for a fifth term in the U.S. Senate, supporters and opponents are wondering: What will the unpredictable senior senator from Arizona do next? (Watch a CNN discussion about McCain's future)
McCain is now senator-for-life: It's slightly tragic that McCain had to run as "an insecure, reactive, poll-watching hack" to beat the "clownish" Hayworth, says Tunku Varadarajan in The Daily Beast. In fact, the "decent thing" for him to have done after losing to President Obama was retire. Now, "ferociously" clinging to his Senate seat for as long as possible, at any cost, "Barnacle McCain" has become "the Liza Minnelli of American politics."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He'll lead the GOP "adults": I don't "begrudge," McCain his "doctrinal compromises," or the $20 million he spent to take care of "his political business business in Arizona," says David Broder in The Washington Post. But now his party, and the nation, desperately need his "adult leadership" in Washington. For our sake, and his legacy's, it's time for him to re-exert his independent streak.
"John McCain, your country is calling"
McCain hasn't won yet: McCain "survived his primary brush with political termination," says Michael Crowley in Time, but the race isn't over. The conventional wisdom is that McCain "will roll to easy victory" over Democrat Rodney Glassman, a 32-year-old "wonk," but McCain alienated Hispanic voters with his "rightward lurch on immigration." And the only thing worse than being a Democrat this year is being an incumbent.
-
Book reviews: ‘Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity’ and ‘Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice’feature An examination of humanity in the face of “the Machine” and a posthumous memoir from one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, who recently died by suicide
-
Why has America’s economy gone K-shaped?Today's Big Question The rich are doing well. Everybody else is scrimping.
-
Democrats: Falling for flawed outsidersfeature Graham Platner’s Senate bid in Maine was interrupted by the resurfacing of his old, controversial social media posts
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardonTalking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are US billionaires backing?The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
