John McCain’s support for Obama
The former rivals for the presidency may soon be allies
What happened
John McCain is returning to his unpredictable, often bipartisan form two and a half months after his defeat in the presidential race. In his first speech to the new Congress, McCain admonished Republicans for delaying Hillary Clinton as President Barack Obama’s secretary of state. McCain said the election showed that Americans “want us to work together, and get to work." (The Washington Post)
What the commentators said
Subscribe to 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.
It looks like McCain is Obama’s new best friend in the Senate, said Chris Cillizza in The Washington Post. The Arizona senator immediately and publicly praised Obama for announcing the closure of Guantánamo, and Obama has returned the favor with lavish praise for McCain. Maybe McCain sees himself as a bridge between Obama and Republicans, which could make him a “major player” in the fights ahead.
“If McCain becomes a lone public GOP ally of the Obama administration on questions like immigration or faith in its appointees, that's useful,” said Eve Fairbanks in The New Republic. “If he can rally a troupe of mavericks—longtime devotees of his in the Senate, like Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, Lindsey Graham, and Joe Lieberman—that'd be very useful.”
There’s nothing mavericky about getting swept up in Obamania, said Paul Mirengoff in Power Line. McCain scolded Republicans over Clinton’s confirmation despite legitimate questions of a potential conflict of interest arising from her husband’s charitable foundation. McCain isn’t doing the country any favors, he’s just reverting to “what seems to make him happiest—sticking it to conservative Republicans and assisting liberal Democrats.”
“Stickin’ it to the far right” is the thing so many people admired in McCain all along, said Dennis Sanders in The Moderate Voice. Instead of criticizing him for it, Republicans should be asking themselves why they have “become so afraid of any other flavor of conservatism that it forces people, even the irascible McCain, to conformity.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Do youth curfews work?
Today's big question Banning unaccompanied children from towns and cities is popular with some voters but is contentious politically
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Sleaze baack!'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 20 - 26 April
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published