John McCain Reminds Us Of His Nobler Instincts

by Stuart Shapiro

Sen. John McCain’s op-ed in Sunday’s Washington Post praised President Obama’s speech in Tucson last week.

President Obama gave a terrific speech Wednesday night. He movingly mourned and honored the victims of Saturday’s senseless atrocity outside Tucson, comforted and inspired the country, and encouraged those of us who have the privilege of serving America. He encouraged every American who participates in our political debates – whether we are on the left or right or in the media – to aspire to a more generous appreciation of one another and a more modest one of ourselves.

As Steve Benen notes, there will be an inevitable onslaught that this augurs a return to the John McCain who was a maverick and media darling from 2000-2004 and briefly in early 2008.  But you know what?  Even if Benen is right and it means nothing of the sort, who cares?  McCain for one day gives us an example of the type of behavior that we have said repeatedly over the past week we want our politicians to exhibit.

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.