John McCain: Trending quotes

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John McCain: 338 quotes4 likes

“I just want to also say that Congressman Paul, I've heard him now in many debates talk about bringing our troops home, and about the war in Iraq and how it's failed. And I want to tell you that that kind of isolationism, sir, is what caused World War II. We allowed… We allowed -- we allowed Hitler to come to power with that kind of attitude of isolationism and appeasement.”

John McCain

The CNN/YouTube Republican presidential debate http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/28/debate.transcript/ 2000s, 2007

“We are three-hundred-and-twenty-five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do.”

John McCain

2010s, 2018, Farewell statement (2018)

“You may have noticed that Senator Obama's supporters have been saying some pretty nasty things about western Pennsylvania lately. And you know, I couldn't agree with them more.”

John McCain

Said in a speech http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/10/21/agreeing_to_disagree_or_someth.html near Kansas City, Missouri, 20 October 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/us/politics/22pennsylvania.html?hp 2000s, 2008

“Only an asshole would put together a budget like this. I wouldn't call you an asshole unless you really were an asshole.”

John McCain

Supposedly said to Senator Pete Domenici at a GOP meeting in the fall of 1999. http://www.newsweek.com/id/82862 Disputed

“I will not take the low road to the highest office in this land. I want the presidency in the best way, not the worst way.”

John McCain

Remarks following the South Carolina Primary http://www.votesmart.org/speech_detail.php?sc_id=72173 (19 February 2000). 2000s

“Like most people of my age, I feel a longing for what is lost and cannot be restored. But if the happy pursuits and casual beauty of youth prove ephemeral, something better can endure, and endure until our last moment on earth. And that is the honor we earn and the love we give if at a moment in our lives we sacrifice for something greater than self-interest.
We cannot choose the moments. They arrive unbidden by us. We can choose to let the moments pass, and avoid the difficulties they entail. But the loss we would incur by that choice is much dearer than the tribute we once paid to vanity and pleasure.”

John McCain

1990s, Speech at Ohio Wesleyan University (1997)

“The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, 'Senator, we ought to change the policy,' then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it.”

John McCain

Speaking about Don't ask, don't tell, before students at Iowa State University — [The Washington Post, The Washington Post Company, February 3, 2010, Michael D., Shear, McCain appears to shift on 'don't ask, don't tell', http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/02/AR2010020202588.html, 2010-10-28]
2000s, 2006

“No one of good character leaves behind a wasted life — whether they die in obscurity or renown. "Character," wrote the 19th Century evangelist, Dwight Moody, "is what you are in the dark." Your character is not tested on occasions of public scrutiny or acclaim. It is not tested in moments when the object of your actions is the regard of another. Your character is what you are to yourself, not what you pretend to be to yourself or others. Although human beings often attempt self-delusion, we cannot forever hide the truth about ourselves from ourselves. It will make itself known to us by means of our conscience despite our most strenuous effort to suppress it.”

John McCain

1990s, Speech at Ohio Wesleyan University (1997)

“One aspect of the [Vietnam] conflict by the way that I will never ever countenance is that we drafted the lowest income level of America and the highest income level found a doctor that would say that they had a bone spur. That is wrong. That is wrong. If we are going to ask every American to serve, every American should serve.”

John McCain

On C-SPAN3, American History TV, quoted in The Republic https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/ej-montini/2017/10/22/john-mccain-mocks-donald-trumps-deferment-bone-spurs-without-naming-him/789051001/ (October 2017) 2010s, 2017

“While our Party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us.”

John McCain

2010s, 2016, Statement regarding the Khan family (1 August 2016)

“Mike is the most entertaining, most knowledgeable, and most insightful guy I have ever dealt with. I am constantly entertained by him.”

John McCain

As quoted in "Romney guru thrives in political 'show business'" https://web.archive.org/web/20060307070315/http://www.boston.com:80/news/politics/president/articles/2005/06/12/romney_guru_thrives_in_political_show_business/?page=full (12 June 2005), by Brian C. Mooney, The Boston Globe 2000s, 2005

“While I suppose this means I’ll spend this Easter in Sedona rather than Siberia, I couldn’t be more proud of being sanctioned by Vladimir Putin for standing up for freedom and human rights for the Russian people and against Putin’s deadly aggression in Ukraine. I will never stop my efforts to support democracy, free speech, and the rule of law in Russia”

John McCain

Remarks after being banned from entering Russia http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/john-mccain-russia-ban-116220.html#ixzz3bkitHxmA (3 March 2015) 2010s, 2015

“Putin's Russia is our adversary and moral opposite. It is committed to the destruction of the post-war, rule-based, world order built on American leadership and the primacy of our political and economic values…There is no placating Putin. There is no transforming him from a gangster to a responsible statesman. Previous administrations have tried and failed not because they didn’t try hard enough, but because Putin wants no part of it… Oppose Russian aggression against the world we have built from the ruined cities and destroyed empires of World War II. Don’t surrender the gains for our security and the progress for humanity that our Cold War victory achieved. Support the Russian people and their rights to liberty and justice, not the corrupt leaders who betray them… [A]ll who risk their lives to free Russia from tyranny and corruption are our allies. They are our moral equals. And the president of the United States, the nation that has been the greatest force for good in human history, should be the first among us to recognize that.”

John McCain

"Russia dissidents are our moral equals" http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/02/13/trump-gets-it-wrong-on-putin-russia-moral-equals-john-mccain-column/97822770/ (13 February 2017), USA Today 2010s, 2017

“The president, comparing him to a kid in the back of a classroom, I think, is very indicative of the president’s lack of appreciation of who Vladimir Putin is. He’s an old KGB colonel that has no illusions about our relationship, does not care about a relationship with the United States, continues to oppress his people, continues to act in an autocratic fashion.”

John McCain

As quoted in "McCain: Obama's 'slouch' comment dismissive of Putin" http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/08/11/mccain-obamas-slouch-comment-dismissive-of-putin/, (11 August 2013), The Washington Post 2010s, 2013

“The -- the constant partisan rancor that stops us from solving these problems isn't a cause. It's a symptom. It's what happens when people go to Washington to work for themselves and not for you.”

John McCain

2000s, 2008, (2008)

“What our enemies have sought to destroy is beyond their reach. It cannot be taken from us. It can only be surrendered.
My friends, we are again met on the field of political competition with our fellow countrymen. It is more than appropriate, it is necessary that even in times of crisis we have these contests, and engage in spirited disagreement over the shape and course of our government.
We have nothing to fear from each other. We are arguing over the means to better secure our freedom, and promote the general welfare. But it should remain an argument among friends who share an unshaken belief in our great cause, and in the goodness of each other.
We are Americans first, Americans last, Americans always. Let us argue our differences. But remember we are not enemies, but comrades in a war against a real enemy, and take courage from the knowledge that our military superiority is matched only by the superiority of our ideals, and our unconquerable love for them.
Our adversaries are weaker than us in arms and men, but weaker still in causes. They fight to express a hatred for all that is good in humanity.
We fight for love of freedom and justice, a love that is invincible. Keep that faith. Keep your courage. Stick together. Stay strong.
Do not yield. Do not flinch. Stand up. Stand up with our President and fight.
We're Americans.
We're Americans, and we'll never surrender.
They will.”

John McCain

2000s, 2004, Speech at the Republican National Convention (2004)

“I have not been keeping up with it as much as I should have maybe, because it’s certainly—This and Paris Hilton are the kind of issues that seem to get a lot more attention than maybe some of us think they deserve.”

John McCain

On being asked whether O. J. Simpson could get a fair trial in the robbery case, in a televised interview http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20838374/ on Hardball with Chris Matthews, 17 September 2007 2000s, 2007

“Russia's leaders, rich with oil wealth and corrupt with power, have rejected democratic ideals and the obligations of a responsible power. They invaded a small, democratic neighbor to gain more control over the world's oil supply, intimidate other neighbors, and further their ambitions of re-assembling the Russian empire.”

John McCain

2000s, 2008, (2008)

“We lost -- we lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption. We lost their trust when rather than reform government, both parties made it bigger. We lost their trust when instead of freeing ourselves from a dangerous dependence on foreign oil, both parties -- and Sen. Obama -- passed another corporate welfare bill for oil companies. We lost their trust when we valued our power over our principles. We're going to change that.”

John McCain

2000s, 2008, (2008)

“In America, we change things that need to be changed. Each generation makes its contribution to our greatness. The work that is ours to do is plainly before us; we don't need to search for it.”

John McCain

2000s, 2008, (2008)