On Saturday, former President Barack Obama honored the late John McCain in a eulogy in Washington, D.C. at the National Cathedral.
Obama said McCain called him and asked for him to eulogize his memory. The former president followed a number of political icons, including George W. Bush.
The former commander in chief remembered McCain as a man with whom he universally disagreed with on policy issues but noted that they shared a treasured interpretation of the American way.
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“So much of our politics, our public life, our public discourse can seem small and mean and petty. … John called on us to be bigger than that.” –@BarackObama pic.twitter.com/WnD2tHy6oh
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) September 1, 2018
It’s tough to overstate the impact John McCain had on American politics. His funeral was attended by every major living politician including former President Bill Clinton and former first lady and secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
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“We laughed with each other. And we learned from each other.” Barack Obama describes the private Oval Office conservations he’d have with John McCain pic.twitter.com/rBz4aFrNoO
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 1, 2018
In his eulogy, Obama remembered the conversations he had with McCain in the Oval Office, saying that after he became president McCain would come to the White House.
Obama explained, “We enjoyed the time that we shared away from the bright lights. We laughed at each other and we learned from each other. We never doubted the other man’s sincerity.”
McCain’s passing has shocked the political world, in Washington teary-eyed lawmakers remembered the late politician — Lindsey Graham, McCain’s best friend in the Senate delivered an emotional speech on the floor of the upper chamber.
McCain will be laid to rest on Sunday in Annapolis, Maryland at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he was a student. From his plot of land, the political icon will look out on a nearby river at the sailboats gliding slowly past.