Over the course of his service, Senator McCain’s straight talk and principled assessment of issues and events of the day positioned him as a leader and widely sought voice. His words and thoughts on many issues remain as relevant today as they were when he spoke them. “In His Own Words” is a collection of some of Senator McCain’s memorable comments related to issues of today.
“Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.”
(Farewell Letter 2018)
“We have to fight isolationism, protectionism, and nativism. We have to defeat those who would worsen our divisions. We have to remind our sons and daughters that we became the most powerful nation on earth by tearing down walls, not building them.”
(Naval Academy Speech 2017)
“But in the end, torture’s failure to serve its intended purpose isn’t the main reason to oppose its use. I have often said, and will always maintain, that this question isn’t about our enemies; it’s about us. It’s about who we were, who we are and who we aspire to be. It’s about how we represent ourselves to the world.”
(Torture Report Speech 2014)
“I hope we can again rely on humility, on our need to cooperate, on our dependence on each other to learn how to trust each other again and by so doing better serve the people who elected us…. Let’s trust each other. Let’s return to regular order. We’ve been spinning our wheels on too many important issues because we keep trying to find a way to win without help from across the aisle…”
(Regular Order 2017)
“I looked into Mr. Putin’s eyes and I saw three letters: a K, a G and a B. Their aggression in Georgia is not acceptable behavior… I do believe that we need to bolster our friends and allies…”
(On Russian Activity in Georgia 2008)
“Our values are our strength and greatest treasure. We are distinguished from other countries because we are not made from a land or tribe or particular race or creed, but from an ideal that liberty is the inalienable right of mankind and in accord with nature and nature’s Creator…”
(NYT Op-Ed May 2018)
“…our future lies in the information technology revolution, innovation and entrepreneurship of small businesses across America, and I’ll do everything to get government out of the way.”
(Fortune Interview 2008)
“…to abandon the ideals we have advanced around the globe, 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…is about as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans consigned to the ash heap of history.”
(Liberty Medal Ceremony 2017)
“Respect for the God-given dignity of every human being, no matter their race, ethnicity or other circumstances of their birth, is the essence of American patriotism. To believe otherwise is to oppose the very idea of America.”
(January 2018 Tweet)