I was saddened by the news that Senator John McCain (R-AZ) had been diagnosed with brain cancer. He has crossed Iowa many times in his attempts to become President of the United States. He was never one who took the easy path. He faced hardship that few of us could endure and he bounced back after each defeat to reach a higher level of prominence.
In the Iowa Caucuses, beginning in 2000, McCain faired poorly because he was anti-ethanol. To be clear, he was anti-government subsidy. His view was that every new venture must compete on its own merit, without political endorsement or government underpinning.
In 2007, he began to canvas the state in hopes of winning the nation?s first presidential primary (caucus), and found most people weren?t wild about him. I was a reporter in Des Moines at the time, and determined to be at as many rally?s as possible in the run-up to the January 2008 caucus night. McCain showed up at an armory and walked in alone, wearing his signature leather bomber jacket. I was the only reporter in the building so he came up, introduced himself and asked: ?What do you want to talk about?? I began asking agricultural questions, and he stared to fade pretty fast. I asked if he had changed his views on ethanol and he let me know that he had not.
After he received the nomination, he came back several times, but the most telling event was his visit to the Iowa State Fair where he did not have a public rally. He wanted to meet privately with Republican leaders in the state. I knew Craig Lang, Iowa Farm Bureau President, was going to try to talk the Senator into supporting ethanol, so he had a chance to win Iowa. Lang was ready to go when McCain?s car pulled up at the front of the fairgrounds. He got in and they drove away from the crowd of reporters. We assumed they would be back so we camped there for a half hour. When the car drove in, Lang stepped out, slammed the door and strode off with his head down. It was obvious he had not changed McCain?s mind. The result was an Obama win in November.
I would bet John McCain will remain the nemesis of President Trump for as long as his health allows. If he were a quitter, he would have died in North Vietnam when his plane was shot down and he was held in a bamboo cell for six years. Like him or not, John McCain has served his country like few others. He may have been his own worst enemy, but the tenacity that kept him alive after beatings in Vietnam also kept him from modifying his principles, ultimately denying him the office of President of the United States.
