Did Poor Health Drive Senator John McCain In The Right Direction?

After keeping everyone in suspense, ailing Senator John McCain did his “profile in courage” thing and bucked his party and president to vote against a measure that would almost surely have ripped apart Obamacare, and with that the lives of millions of poor and desperately sick Americans.

Sometimes the Maverick can be as partisan as any politician, especially when his own reelection is on the line. Yet at crunch time old John usually comes though and does the right thing, the honorable thing for the nation at large.

We will never know what the Senator would have done had it been a case where he was in the middle of his political career instead of at the ragged end. Yet we know that if at all possible the Senator has always had a strong desire to stay with his better angels, like the time when he defended Obama against a charge by a ridiculously partisan lady in a crowd, where the Senator was campaigning for president against Obama, that his competitor was some sort of an alien Arab.

One suspects that last night his better angels were whispering in his ear: “This is your last chance to do good, John, don’t mess it up.” And so in the face of incredible partisan pressure, a sickly man nearing his last rodeo hung tough and supported the forces of goodness.

Maybe it was poor health that was the deciding factor with McCain’s epic vote that saved Obamacare, but, still, you always know that deep down the Maverick much prefers to do what he feels is best for the country.

God save Senator McCain. God save our country.