![]() ![]() These very efforts and the belief in standing up for the liberty of all people are what leaders throughout the country voiced again and again about McCain Monday night. "To refuse the obligations of international leadership and our duty to remain 'the last best hope of earth' for the sake of some half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems is as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans consigned to the ash heap of history," McCain said toward the end of his remarks.Īs was the case with other loaded references, the crowd responded with loud applause and cheers. Though no one mentioned President Donald Trump by name Monday night, the effects of his presidency rang throughout the words of many speakers – but none more explicitly than McCain himself. "Nor could I support it without knowing how much it will cost, how it will affect insurance premiums, and how many people will be helped or hurt by it." I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried," McCain said in a statement at the time. “I cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham-Cassidy proposal. Last month, McCain voted no to the Graham-Cassidy proposal, which would have kept much of the Obamacare tax structure in place, but given back money to states in the form of block grants, allowing them to design their own health care systems. McCain became a focal point when he took a stand against efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, efforts that former President Barack Obama and Biden championed. “But what you don’t really understand in my humble opinion is how much courage you give the rest of us in looking at you. “To paraphrase Hemingway, when we grow stronger and all our broken parts, John, you were broken many times, physically and otherwise, and you’ve always grown stronger,” Biden said. He's been receiving radiation and chemotherapy treatment at the National Institutes of Health since the Senate began its summer recess, and has kept a working schedule.īiden said McCain's drive to continue serving the country is an example to all Americans. The 81-year-old announced in July that he was diagnosed with a brain tumor – the same type of cancer that took Biden’s son, Beau. The Arizona senator has received considerable attention this year both for his willingness as a Republican to defy the GOP effort to repeal Obamacare and for his cancer diagnosis announced this summer. STORY: Police investigate death near Trinity STORY: Incyte seeks billions after worker allegedly walks off with cancer drug secrets John McCain receives the 2017 Liberty Medal I was, knowingly or not, along for the ride as America made the future better than the past.” ![]() “I see now that I was part of something important that drew me along in its wake even when I was diverted by other interests. “But among the few compensations of old age is the acuity of hindsight,” he said. ![]() I haven’t even always appreciated what I was serving.” “I have served America’s cause – the cause of our security and the security of our friends, the cause of freedom and equal justice – all my adult life. ![]() “I am the luckiest guy on earth,” McCain said. Those gathered Monday night on Independence Mall outside the Constitution Center, considered McCain a worthy addition to that list. Previous recipients include Nelson Mandela, Sandra Day O'Connor and Colin Powell. On Monday night, Biden presented his longtime friend with the 2017 Liberty Medal for what he called a lifetime of “courage and loyalty.” The award marked the first that Biden bestowed in his role as chairman of the National Constitution Center.Įach year, the Liberty Medal is awarded to men and women "of courage and conviction who have strived to secure the blessings of liberty to people the world over," according to the organization. “From my perspective, it all pointed in that direction from the very beginning,” Biden said. The former vice president even believed McCain should have won the Republican nomination for president in 2000, much to the chagrin of his delegation. In the most heated of debates, sometimes even between the two senators themselves, the men found common ground to make America better. Joe Biden and John McCain have long earned criticism for crossing the political aisle to join arms. Watch Video: John McCain given the 2017 Liberty Medal ![]()
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