George W. Bush shared a piece of candy with Michelle Obama at McCain’s memorial

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John McCain’s funeral was just as he planned it: an epic spectacle of melancholy and mourning, with militaristic flourishes and good shady politics. You can tell it was a great funeral because people – Deplorables – were actually quite mad about it. Those poor, dumb, sensitive souls got “triggered” by the very idea that Republicans and Democrats came together to honor an American senator and bash the hell out of the traitor in the White House. I’m not going to talk about those disgruntled snowflakes though. This post is just the highlight reel, which – quite honestly – was what McCain intended. HE planned his funeral. He wanted it to be a rebuke of Trump from top to bottom.

Here’s Meghan McCain’s eulogy, which included these lines: “The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again, because America was always great.”

Here’s George W. Bush’s eulogy, which included these words: “Perhaps above all John detested the abuse of power, could not abide bigots and swaggering. He spoke up for the little guy, forgotten people in forgotten places.”

And here’s Barack Obama’s eulogy, which was almost entirely a huge subtweet of the orange traitor.

All of these eulogies were widely praised, as they should be. Oddly, my favorite was George W. Bush’s eulogy. I think Bush in particular was surprised that McCain wanted him there, given their shady history.

One of the best moments of the funeral didn’t involve a eulogy though – George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama and Barack Obama were all seated together. Of course Laura and Barack let Michelle and George sit beside each other, because those two adore each other and have formed some kind of bond or friendship. Well, I guess Laura Bush also carries candy (or mints?) in her purse and she gave one to George. Michelle was like “I want one” and so George discreetly passed a piece of candy to Michelle:

This was honestly one of the best little moments of the week. Just a small act of sweetness, bipartisanship, whatever you want to call it. It was lovely. I love how Michelle quietly says “thank you” and how both Laura and Barack look over at their spouses, like, “we can’t keep these two apart.”

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133 Responses to “George W. Bush shared a piece of candy with Michelle Obama at McCain’s memorial”

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  1. Lenn says:

    Everyone spoke so eloquently. That alone made it such a contrast with orangeface.

    • Morning Coffee says:

      It was a beautiful service. My favorite eulogy, however, was Joe Biden at the Arizona memorial service. Looking straight at the assembled senators and reminding them that McCain’s last speech on the Senate floor was an appeal for the return to regular order.

  2. Digital Unicorn says:

    Very cute – W is just a big ole flirt.

    The Orange Traitor tweeted his campaign slogan several times during and after the event. Someone was pissy he wasn’t allowed to go and 2 former Presidents dragged him.

    I saw Blackkklansman over the weekend and the ending really highlighted how the deplorables were super triggered by the fact that a black man dared to run and win the highest office TWICE. White men really have small tiny penises that they are hyper sensitive about. For the record am a white woman.

    • Tw says:

      I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – sexual inadequacy is the root of much of the misogyny and hatred in the world.

    • In awe says:

      Digital Unicorn, you just made my morning! Ty! I love you!

    • Snowflake says:

      I wanna go see that movie! Good?

      • Jerusha says:

        Yes. Very powerful. The ending really hits you-I teared up.

      • Digital Unicorn says:

        Very – go see it. The ending slaps you in the face.

        On a lighter note John David Washington is my new internet bf!!! He’s waaay hotter than his father.

      • Spikey says:

        @ Snowflake I saw it last week and thoroughly liked it. Hm, like is the wrong word. I definitively “liked” parts of the movie (the comedy parts), but overall I came out very thoughtful and pessimistic about my fellow humans.
        But I can see how it’s not for everyone. It’s Spike Lee at his best, ideologically, but he was clearly not very interested in his story line, continuity or character development. However, go and see it and if it’s just to marvel at the unbelievable charisma of John David Washington.

    • Queenb says:

      You could also use your privilege to talk to white men and specifically white women who voted for Trump.

      • Rescue Cat says:

        Middle-class white men and white women. Clinton won with the working class.

      • Digital Unicorn says:

        Am not American but I do have acquaintances who don’t have a problem with Trump and I have had MANY conversations with them about how they need an attitude adjustment as everything about Trump and his ‘supporters’ is wrong. The main UK opposition party, Labour, is engulfed in a massive anti-semitic scandal at the moment after offensive comments made by the leader Jeremy Corbyn. The party is also facing allegations of doing nothing to protect Jewish members from nasty behaviour from others within the party, as well as refusing to adopt the international definition of anti-semitic behaviour as part of the party policy.

        It seems old white men the world over as pissing their pants at the thought of losing power.

      • isabelle says:

        Absolutely and infertility complex for sure. Getting back at those evil liberals and hoping to gain just a bit of power from the very people they are voting for took away a longtime ago. They wold gouged out their own eyeballs to spite others.

      • CheckThatPrivilege says:

        The Trumpsters I know don’t want to have a discussion, and I’m someone who responds to people courteously but clearly on the subject of Trump. They’ve doubled down on their votes for Trump as something they’d do again and will, if they get their chance.

        The one Trump voter I know who briefly admitted he’s not been happy with some of Trump’s “performance” was a big Apprentice fan who also doesn’t want to talk about it. He said that he voted for a “successful businessman” because he was unhappy with the status quo and hated the thought of HRC & a “Clinton political dynasty.” I commented that, as a Republican and smart businessman in his own right who plays by the rules even when he doesn’t agree with them (way too much credit, I’m guessing), he voted for someone with a well-documented, grifting, shady past who never made any secret of his bullying and willingness to shaft people. At that, he was done with the topic.

        A recent WaPo opinion-piece headline really struck me: “People don’t vote for what they want. They vote for who they are.” That says it all. He’s an educated, well-off cheapskate (except for his own desires) born on 3rd base who bitches about paying taxes and who won’t own his occasional “just kidding, I was drinking and you know I don’t mean it” BS that’s infused with prejudice and bullying. And he’s one of the milder ones.

      • arianan says:

        @CheckThatPrivilege: I abstained from voting in the last Presidential election, I could not bring myself to vote for either candidate.

        Neither candidate was worthy of the office of President of the United States. Hopefully there will be better candidates in the 2020 election. We can only hope.

      • Betsy says:

        @arianan – nope. You’re wrong, flat out. HILLARY was an AMAZING candidate.

        If I were you, i’d quit my regular news sources and start from scratch. Christian Science Monitor. NPR. PBS News Hour. Washington Post is nice.

      • Little Red says:

        Nope. Not voting was the same as voting for Donald Trump. We have a winner takes all system which means that your protest vote was useless. People like you have saddled the country with that worthless POS in the WH. Thanks.

    • Dee Kay says:

      BlacKkKlansman was very good, not a perfect film but for sure worth seeing in the theaters. I always think Spike Lee does a poor job with his female characters, but the film overall is strong and will make you think about it long after it ends!

    • Lightpurple says:

      The ending of BlackKKKKlansman made me cry and I don’t cry at movies. The fact that I saw it on the anniversary of Charlottesville might have contributed

  3. Elkie says:

    Loved that moment. Didn’t love John McCain. Loved the service. Adored how the Trumpsters threw all their toys out of the pram because striving for better is apparently a vicious attack against their cult leader.

    • Esmom says:

      It was pretty remarkable how Trump and the deplorables could be triggered by a service that mostly celebrated service and sacrifice and integrity and decency…with no mention of Trump by name. Even the direct rebukes didn’t mention him. Yet it was so clear how despised he is.

      I can’t believe Ivanka and Jared dared to show their faces. I hope they felt extreme humiliation.

      • Holly hobby says:

        Not only showed their faces but Complict Barbie was playing with her phone throughout. She had no interest being there obviously. She just wanted a photo op. Shame on Lindsey Graham for asking Cindy McCain if it’s all right to bring trash to the funeral.

      • pottymouth pup says:

        Ivanka seemed to spend all her time texting during the service (I wonder if she got her rabbi to give her a dispensation for that at well?)

        the deplorables are sooo pissed, they’ve now started trashing McCain for his poor treatment of his first wife (and noting she wasn’t invited to the funeral, which is odd because you don’t usually invite the ex to a funeral unless that ex needs to bring young children to say the final goodbye to the parent)

        I wonder if this treatment will impact Meghan McCain’s almost knee-jerk support of Trump/the deplorables on the View (will she finally see the difference between the conservative movement of her father’s generation and Trumpism)

    • Clara says:

      Solid take, Elkie 👍

    • minx says:

      McCain was a complicated person who could be really frustrating. He did have people who loved him, which is more than Trump has.

      • isabelle says:

        He changed a lot during the Presidential campaign, from his actions in the last fear years, he showed he regretted it. This man (along with a few other senators) like him or not saved Obama Care from being chopped and axed.

  4. Shannon says:

    Those two, George and Michelle, are so #FriendshipGoals LOL I love them together. The entire week, McCain has sent us a message he planned out in advance. That message, I’m convinced, was “I did NOT spent years of my life in a POW camp for this sh!t. Do better, America.” He made it a bipartisan message and he did it fantastically. Sadly, hard core Trumpers ain’t listening but the rest of us should,

    • Lightpurple says:

      Even the music he chose. America the Beautiful with “God mend thine every flaw” and The Battle Hymn of the Republic, a reminder that white supremacy lost.

      • Nancy says:

        Danny Boy got me, with his 106 year old mother sitting there. I thought it was quite emotional. He planned his own funeral exactly how he wanted it and had in attendance those he wanted to be there.

  5. Beth says:

    I was really hoping that Trump would have the decency to leave his phone at home and stay off twitter while golf during the funeral. Trump again proved what a heartless man child he is

    • boredblond says:

      Agree..his uncontrollable need to ‘scream’ in caps over a daughter’s tribute showed a new low in sick pettiness. You have to be brain dead or soulless to be at all accepting of his lifetime of cruel words and behavior.

  6. Other Renee says:

    Trump can’t stand the idea that no one will really miss him when he returns to dust. He’ll never be eulogized the way John McCain was. He’ll never command that kind of respect. That bugs the orange crap out of him.

    • minx says:

      And, of course, he’s too hateful and stupid to admit that being a lovable person makes people love you. It’s his own fault but he blames the world that everyone hates him.

      • Nancy says:

        He is such a sociopath though, minx, I don’t think he thinks people hate him. Only the fake media…lol. I never thought much about McCain, I voted for Obama. But since he so openly disliked trump, not all of his policies, but the man himself, it actually warmed me to John McCain. I loved the story of his mother in her late 90’s traveling with friends, and when they wouldn’t rent a car to her bc of her age, she bought one! He got his toughness from more than his Admiral father. This is one tough lady.

    • isabelle says:

      Can you imagine the plebs that stand up for him at his funeral? Angry white men and robotic milk toast women. What a crowd!

  7. Nancy says:

    It was a beautiful farewell. Seeing all the real presidents and their wives was such a sad reminder of what is now. When Meghan said her Father’s America was already great, it was perfect. Yet there with his fat trigger fingers itching to tweet, he finally did in all caps, MAG. It was a slap in the face to the people who knowingly, wantonly, left him out in the dark, only for him to slip in the back as the keyboard terrorist that he is.

  8. Lucy says:

    Um, no. I’m very sorry to say this but the way MO (and anyone else for that matter) is so warm to him only makes me think a bit less of her.

    • Sarah says:

      I don’t care about MO being nice to W because as a black woman, I know that she would be eviscerated more than anybody else if she were anything but polite and sweet to him.
      But the real-time revisionism around his presidency is a sight to behold. W left office only a decade ago and it’s like people already forgot!!
      Iraq is a mess, we still have troops in Afghanistan, New Orleans have not fully recover from Katrina but here we are, acting like W is this funny little grandpa when he and his administration of scumbags are nothing but war criminals. He does not deserve to be here, he should be awaiting trial at The Hague.

      • Arpeggi says:

        And let’s not forget all the funds his government withdrew from NGOs that dared to mention family planning and all that was sent to “christians” NGOs instead. All the bashing of homosexuals in sub-saharan Africa can be linked to those evangelical groups that took over the business of helping.

        W is the last person who should school you about bigotry or abuse of power (or maybe 2nd to last after Dick Cheney). He should be in jail for having lied to the Americans people about Irak

      • Mego says:

        I have to agree. His administration was horrific in it’s own way.

      • Elisa says:

        Well said, Sarah. And let’s not forget that the war in Iraq led to the rise of ISIS and destabilized the whole region. IMO the Bush Administration was so much worse than Trump (so far).

      • jwoolman says:

        The real President back then was the VP, Dick Cheney. George W. was the marionette. I blame Cheney for the wars and the lies told to get Congress to accept it. George W. really seemed pretty out of it. George had some good qualities, though, check out his post-9/11 speech. He has also redeemed himself with some choice words about Trump. He’s best out of politics.

        My bet is that MO sees the same thing and accepts him as a regular person.

    • minx says:

      MO is a gracious, loving person. She’s going to be polite to everyone, that’s who she is.

    • Yes Doubtful says:

      When they go low, we go high. She’s a good person who wants to see good in all people. She would even be gracious to that sack-of-s*** Trump.

    • Yes Doubtful says:

      .

    • FhMom says:

      Whoa. Because MO politely accepted a piece of candy from GB you think less of her as a person? Would you have preferred her to scowl at him and slap the candy to the ground?

      • Holly hobby says:

        And that’s why bipartisanship died. If anyone has a chance, go watch Joe Biden’s eulogy. It says it all. You can disagree on policy but still be friends. That’s what’s wrong with politics today.

      • Melly says:

        @Holly hobby
        You said it perfectly!

    • Jovi says:

      Seriously? Do I need to remind you all of Obama’s use of drones? He was definitely one of the best presidents we are likely to ever have, but even he is not infallible. Michelle Obama supported her husband’s decision to use tactics that were not only ineffective at achieving any goal,but have killed many, many civillians, but you think less of her for being friends with another nice man with convictions that led to bad things happening to civillians? How the hell does that work?

      • minx says:

        How do we know MO supported the use of drones? Did she ever make a public statement about it?

      • Arpeggi says:

        W is not a nice man. He lied to the public about Irak having weapons of mass destruction and completely disturbed a whole region of the world, leading to the death of hundreds of thousands (and leaving many more injured) because of daddy complexes and bigotry. He made Karl Rove a mainstream name (and Rove is definitely the reason we have such dirty campaign nowadays) and broke years after years Texas’ record of execution, he was proud of refusing to commute inmates’ sentences while governor and approved torture as a method of interrogation once POTUS… Trump is vile but so is Bush, just in a different way.

  9. Prikalop says:

    Mrs. Orange Jr aka Ivanka attended the service with her husband. She should have stayed home, really.

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      During the eulogy’s she was seen with her head bowed, there were reports that she was on her phone texting.

      • Lightpurple says:

        She played with her phone throughout the service. It was particularly noticeable when Lieberman was talking about the things their shared Orthodox religion prohibits on Shabbat. She crashed a funeral, behaved badly throughout, and is now complaining that she wasn’t given a seat of honor. Neither was Tricia Nixon Cox, who holds the same status and actually knew McCain but Nagini thinks she’s special. She was seated next to AZ governor and probably gave him orders on whom to appoint to McCain’s seat.

      • Patty says:

        And did you see Mitch McConnell’s wife? She’s also part of Drumps administration. The bitch was cleaning her fingernails. So f–king rude. Why even go if you’re going to show your ass and behave as though you don’t want to be there.

    • Jerusha says:

      And the butt sniffers are enraged because Jarvanka were seated “too far back.” Guess they should have occupied frontbrow seats rather than family members or past presidents.

      • Nancy says:

        I’ve heard of party crashers, wedding crashers, but who in the hell crashes a funeral. They looked uncomfortable and out of place. The classless wench did appear to be texting. He looked half dead like usual and like he’d rather be anywhere else. Maybe someone in the WH thought they needed a face for those voters who were on the fence and about to jump over. Poor sad Istanka never thought it was going to go down like this.

      • homeslice says:

        Nancy, your post made me genuinely lol! Spot on!!!

      • Nancy says:

        😀 Good! We all need to laugh more, don’t we? I know the second my husband walks in the door with my Stuffed French Toast, I will be smiling for sure! #biggerbytheminutepregolady

    • minx says:

      Someone had to invite Jarvanka, I wonder who? They couldn’t just wander in.

      • Nancy says:

        I think I heard it was Lindsay Graham. He had gotten the permission of Cindy McCain. Whether this is factual, I don’t know. Probably is, since like you said they just couldn’t wander in, although that is exactly something trump would have done years ago before the presidency. He is just that person.

      • jessamine says:

        Apparently Lindsey Graham invited Javanka after receiving permission to do so from Cindy McCain. I can’t fathom why they accepted, though.

      • Esmom says:

        And how pathetic that they had to ask Graham to ask if they could attend. How about just staying away, ffs?

      • Nancy says:

        He told Dana Bash (CNN) that Ivanka’s kind words about McCain didn’t go unnoticed by the family. I don’t trust Graham (probably why I spelled first name wrong, ha!). He was a lifelong friend of McCains but seems adamant to make nice with trump’s spawn. He was talking about an upcoming trip to S. Africa and said Cindy and this trump woman could work together. Let it go Lindsey. *they accepted because they had to. They had to show their followers, some who must have souls, that they grieve the dead and respected McCain. Everyone is talking about it, pr team hard at work.*

      • Christin says:

        Well, that is interesting. I wondered who extended an invitation (or, apparently got approval). They probably knew Lindsey, as a close family friend, would not be turned down. Or, Lindsey did it of his own accord (to stay in the other family’s good graces).

        Then again, I heard that while certain people were not invited (word being sent through intermediaries), they would not actually kick anyone out if they did show up.

      • Lightpurple says:

        Nagini spent Thursday or Friday doing photo ops with Graham, even dragging her daughter along because she is desperately trying to distract from Mueller’s investigation and other disasters in Orange Voldy’s realm. She and Graham hatched up their plot then and Graham invited her. He “asked” Cindy during the wake on Friday in public so she had no choice but to agree or make a scene at her husband’s wake.

        And Nagini and Graham are plotting to use our tax dollars for yet another vacation and personal business trip, this time to Africa.

      • Nancy says:

        As I mentioned above, two of the three Amigos were interviewed by Bash and asked who invited her. The answer was Cindy McCain because of the kind words Ivanka spoke of her husband after his death. This is a political wife who knows what she’s doing. There has to be some protocol followed. I’m guessing Meghan wasn’t thrilled, but Ivanka isn’t in her crosshairs, it’s her father. He’s the one who mocked and disgraced him and why he never could have attended that funeral. I don’t think her kid has anything to do with anything. She’s hardly a John Kennedy, Jr. She’s just a kid, like stupid’s kid, Barron. Innocent until they prove differently with time. MY FRENCH TOAST HAS ARRIVED………………Happy Labor Day Everyone!!!

    • Holly hobby says:

      Pudding has something on the graham. Ever since he came back from that golf trip he’s been spouting that clown’s agenda. He even wants Sessions removed. Any other time I would agree to it but sessions is the only person standing between those jerks and Mueller.

      • Ponchorella says:

        It could be kompromat on his sexuality, or else he’s angling for Session’s job when Trump boots him after midterms. McCain would be so disgusted with his “friend”. There’s definitely something up with Graham and his 180 turn.

      • Holly hobby says:

        Graham should just own it. In this day and age no one cares what someone’s sexuality is! The truth will set you free.

  10. why? says:

    Michelle and George are sitting next to each other because that’s the seating arrangement. It’s former President and then their spouse. Laura is sitting next to Bill, instead of Hillary.

    I wish the press would stop using negative words like “attack”, “jab”, and “rebuke” to describe what Meghan, Obama, and Bush said. It was the truth. In a time where no one wants to stand up to the Dotard, the press needs to be careful in what words they are using to describe those who speak out against his rhetoric. It’s like how the press has labeled Andrew G a socialist because he wants everyone to have health care and increase wages. What is happening to this country?

    It wasn’t just the deplorables who were upset. Putin didn’t like that for one day the republicans and democrats were getting along. The bots were very active on Saturday. They were attacking Meghan, Obama, and Bush. I was shocked to see how many negative comments they put out about them. Is there a correlation between the Dotard’s approval rating and the activity of the bots? When the bots are active, the Dotard’s approval rating is up? When twitter is being aggressive and shutting down accounts, his approval rating goes down while his disapproval rating goes up?

    What is wrong with Lindsay Graham? What do the Russians have on him because he is doing the Dotard’s bidding. According to reporting, he invited Jared and Ivanka to the funeral, but when asked about it on Sunday, he said that he didn’t do it and that the McCains invited her, but then he immediately contradicted himself by saying that he was in a meeting with Ivanka, she said something nice about the McCain’s, and they noticed. How did they notice? Lindsay Graham.

    • Mel says:

      I saw Graham on State of the Union yesterday and I don’t understand why he wasn’t crawling under a rock in shame. He was Trumpslaining Meghan’s speech. It was a disgrace to his « amigo ». I also wasn’t a big fan of how soft the interviewers have been with him this past week.

    • jessamine says:

      Graham has always been a weasel but it does kind of feel like the second McCain passed and he no longer had to pretend to have a spine for his friend’s sake he started doing the most to go full deplorable.

  11. Dee Kay says:

    GW Bush is an adorable puppy-like person. That does not excuse all of the horrible things he did to our nation and to other nations while he was POTUS. He let Dick Cheney through the door and that man had a Plan for self-enrichment through the oppression of others the likes of which have rarely been seen since the heyday of British Colonialism. I honestly think Bush did not know wth was going on on his watch but that does not make him innocent. I do think Cheney’s deformation of the U.S. Constitution is totally different than Trump’s complete ignorance of the Constitution but both are bad, bad, bad for this country.

    However, are he and Michelle Obama cute together? Yes they are. Any combo of Clintons/Bushes/Obamas looks sweet and warms the heart. They all like each other, maybe b/c they’ve all been through the same gauntlets.

    • adastraperaspera says:

      I agree with everything you say here. Unity is so important right now, but certainly makes strange bedfellows.

    • Jerusha says:

      I always felt that GWB was Cheney’s puppet during the first term, but sensed a distance between them second term,

      • Dee Kay says:

        @Jerusha: Possibly (and if GWB did distance himself even a little from Cheney in term 2 then he wasn’t and isn’t a total idiot), but by then it was far too late. The Plan (I use a capital letter b/c it was sooooo deliberate and thorough) was so well underway and GWB had backed it so hard in term 1 that he could not wholly distance himself from it, or put a stop to it, without making a total mockery of his entire presidency. So, he may have distanced himself, but he did not temper or reverse the decisions of term 1, and as a result, everything Cheney set in motion played out more or less exactly as Cheney intended.

      • homeslice says:

        GWB was a terrible and weak president…Rummy and Cheyney got us into that war, but I don’t excuse W. However, I don’t think he is an immoral man. He made terrible mistakes, with great consequences. But he was not evil or conniving. I believe he thought he was doing the right thing. He is a good father, and husband. And seems to have been quite reflective since leaving the presidency.
        And yes, I think that Michelle and Barack have genuine affection for the Bushes. They were gracious and welcoming when Obama came to the White House. I don’t think they will ever forget that.

      • Dee Kay says:

        @homeslice: I agree with your assessment that GWB was “weak” not “immoral.” Weak and ignorant of how he was being used as a puppet. Not the brightest or savviest POTUS we ever had. But a man who is generous to his friends and loving towards his family? Yes. Pretty racist, though, more in the sense of being unaware of how structural racism works than in the sense of being a bigot. But all the ways he was unaware, all of his blind spots, really allowed the devils to have their day when his primary charge was to protect the nation.

    • Mumbles says:

      Amen amen amen. The Iraq War was immoral and set this country and the world on a course that can’t be undone for decades, if ever. No cutesy candy sharing can undo it. And why do we think Michelle Obama and George Bush “adore” each other? I bet I can count on two hands the times they’ve met. She seems like a serious, thoughtful and decent person, and his campaign and administration did some very ugly things that you can’t easily separate from the man himself.
      And as for this event being a big rebuke to Trump, just remember that all those Republican senators and reps can wring their hands, but in the end they all get in line for him. Even before Trump, they refused to give Merrick Garland his Supreme Court vote – Trump wasn’t even president then. Meghan McCain has shrilly defended Trump on the View, give her a few weeks and she will be at it again. And Kissinger is a war criminal. Even Trump isn’t that, yet.

    • homeslice says:

      Yep, it’s a club with very few members and they all seem to genuinely have affection for each other. No one is saying that they are BFF’s.

      • Dee Kay says:

        @Mumbles: Henry Kissinger is going to hell. If there is a hell and if anyone is going there, it is Kissinger.

        @homeslice: Yes exactly. There are so few people on the planet who can truly understand what it is to occupy the Oval Office. Those who have done it and their spouses all form, as you say, a very small and exclusive club and the club members get along well on the few occasions when they meet up.

  12. Rescue Cat says:

    McCain voted in line with Trump’s policy positions 83% of the time. To me that’s more significant than not inviting him to the funeral.

    • Nancy says:

      But his NO 👎 vote, with a simple hand gesture, in the middle of the night, after enduring brain surgery, he wouldn’t allow trump to abolish Obamacare. It was perfect.

      • Rescue Cat says:

        Doesn’t make up for all the policies he supported.

      • Nancy says:

        I didn’t vote for the man. I was angry he chose Palin, so was he. But after trump said he wasn’t a war hero and decided to take him on personally, I became his fan. He’s gone, it’s a moot point, but there aren’t many others who have the balls to stand up to trump and his puppets. I applaud McCain for not even letting him, the president, attend his funeral. His final fu.

      • Mumbles says:

        He later voted to repeal Obamacare when a “skinny repeal” vote came up.

      • D says:

        But McCain did help Trump destroy Obamacare.

        McCain supported gutting the Obamacare mandate, he supported including that in the tax bill, and happily voted for it.

        Obamacare cannot function without the mandate that guarantees that healthy people pay for coverage. It will fall apart without the mandate – McCain knew this and still specifically said he supported ending it (and voted accordingly).

        The thumbs-down moment was great theater but it was pretty much nullified by his subsequent actions. Obamacare was not saved – it was dealt a death blow by the tax bill – and we still need to keep agitating about this.

    • Melly says:

      He voted with Trump most of the time because they are both Republicans. This isn’t weird or unexpected. Did you expect McCain to fundamentally change his political views because of Trump?

      • Rescue Cat says:

        I didn’t expect liberals to overlook his appalling record just because he did a few things to annoy Trump. But here we are.

  13. Harla says:

    This little video piece just warmed my heart!! I do wish that at some point George W and Michelle might work on an initiative together similar to the work George H and Bill Clinton did after the tsunami that hit Indonesia and again after Hurricane Katrina, I think the two of them together could do great things and it would be lovely to see.

  14. Jerusha says:

    Drumpf’s name was never mentioned, but the Deplorables took it as an attack on him. Twitter had a field day. This tweet encapsulates it:
    https://twitter.com/bdquinn/status/1036266476339163136?s=21

    • Juls says:

      That tweet is a thing of beauty. And it was a response tweet to a Trumpster that called the eulogies “disgusting.” He really put her in her place with his response and she has not responded (yet).

      • Jerusha says:

        Scores of tweeters put her in her place after she said the funeral politicized McCain’s death. They dug up her tweet about Mollie Tibbetts death and illegal iimmigrants. And Father Tibbetts response to Uday’s op-ed is a wonderful read.

    • Holly hobby says:

      Oh look i guess she’s the 3% that supports this regime.

  15. Emily says:

    Hearing Obama speak even for a few minutes makes me feel like he’s still president because, well, he’s so presidential.

    And no one at the funeral ever mentioned Trump. Any deplorable who thinks their commander was insulted when Bush or Obama spoke about grace, ethics and bipartisanship need to take a look at what that says about Trump.

    • Sainthood says:

      Trump sent his daughter to “represent” so the Trumps were present. I don’t like the Trump clan.

  16. Insomniac says:

    Isn’t it so funny that when former presidents talk about respect and honor and dignity and serving a calling higher than oneself without even naming anyone but McCain, Trump and his Deplorables see it as attacking him? Way to acknowledge that this sham “president” has none of those qualities.

  17. Rebecca says:

    McCain’s funeral was grander than John F. Kennedy’s. Can’t figure out why, do you know?

    • Jerusha says:

      Well, for one thing, McCain and his family knew this was coming and had time to plan. Jackie had just a few days to oversee JFK’s funeral and she made it a memorable one. I turned 16 the week JFK was elected, barely 19 when he was assassinated. I assure you, we were all in shock and absolutely numb. All, except of course, the right wingers who celebrated it. They’re the forbearers of our current crop of trash people.

      • Rebecca says:

        I was 13 when Kennedy was killed. It was a trauma for the nation. I thought his funeral was moving. It was not a sideshow. Edward Kennedy had time to plan his funeral also but it was a dignified occasion. McCain’s was NOT.

      • Sainthood says:

        Agree very much.
        McCain should have gotten a somewhat more subdued funeral instead of this showbusiness affair. It was a funeral and he certainly deserved a decent funeral.

        I dislike that some people seem to use McCain’s funeral for their own political agenda. He was no saint but now the media makes him out to be one. I don’t like it.

      • Lady D says:

        Jerusha, I was 3 when he died. Who are these right wingers who were celebrating his death? I haven’t heard about this.

      • Jerusha says:

        Lady D. I was a sophomore at LSU at the time and I heard the sentiment of “Good” uttered by many students. Most professors told us when we showed up that class was cancelled. Not my Bio professor. She stated, “I don’t care who got his head blown off, we’re having class.”
        And:
        “Those sympathetic to the John Birch Society celebrated for a short period after the assassination. Then the upswing in public mourning made it unacceptable to celebrate in the wake of his death. In Biloxi, MS, for instance, the John Birch Society headquarters there had a local university student Thomas Hansen chew them out for their banners of celebration. They then shoved him through the front door glass and had him arrested for vandalism. Public shame had the charges dropped, and Mr. Hansen sported the scars from the glass door as a proud badge of honor.”

        The author, Nathaniel Downes, says Hansen was his stepfather.

      • jwoolman says:

        Jerusha is right. I was 14 when JFK was killed. Everybody else in school was in shock – except for one girl who was a rabid Republican. She not only was not bothered, she sneered at the rest of us for being bothered.

        I was living in a town where when JFK was running for President, the majority Protestant pastors were viewing with alarm and preaching sermons about the dangers of a papist in the Presidency, that the Pope would be running the country if JFK won. (The US had never had a Catholic President at that point, maybe no VP either.) We had anti-Catholic Watchtower brochures tossed on our lawn. My Protestant best friend casually told me that Catholic priests drank the blood of babies at Mass. I was ten and had never experienced anything like this before. My mother was spooked enough that she voted a straight Democratic ticket for the first time in her life (she was a ballot-splitter by nature) because she was afraid that otherwise her vote might not be counted right.

        My mother’s best friend was visiting from New York when JFK was killed – she was absolutely astonished at the downright happy mood the locals were in. Those very religious god-fearing folk were glad the papist Democrat was dead and didn’t care who knew it.

    • minx says:

      I think some funerals of public figures have become more elaborate than they used to be, particularly when they are planned in advance.

      • Mumbles says:

        As a Catholic Mass, especially in 1963, the Church would have had strict rules as to what could be done. No secular music or readings, one eulogy if any.

    • jessamine says:

      I think and additional 50+ years of television immersion has just ramped up our visual pageantry expectations on all ceremonial fronts. Also a) this wasn’t a surprise tragedy –McCain had time to plan and elaborate and b) I think Jackie’s overall aesthetic was more about elegance and restraint (I’m not calling McCain’s funeral gaudy, just that they had different memorial objectives).

    • I was 10 when JFK was assassinated. Please don’t compare his funeral to McCain’s. Kennedy’s quickly planned as Jerusha said, and everyone was in absolute shock and disbelief and pain. Although Kennedy was also a vet (WWII), Jackie based his funeral on Lincoln’s funeral, thus the horse drawn bier. She wanted a funeral in keeping with precedence and and a bit of mythology. Not saying one was better than the other.

    • Lillbelle says:

      IN what way was it grander than Kennedy’s funeral??

  18. Jane says:

    The most notable moment for me was when his widow was crying on the shoulder of the young man sitting next to her when Renee Fleming sang “Danny Boy”. I just about lost it, then. You could just FEEL the pain she was going through. I was whispering to the screen, “Young man, please put your arm around her to give her strength” and he did. I’ll always remember that moment.

    • Nancy says:

      That was her son’s shoulder she was crying on. Have to admit, every time I hear that song, it’s like Taps, or Amazing Grace, the eyes well up. Both of the young men in uninform at her side were John and her sons.

      • Jane says:

        Me too. Especially Amazing Grace with Bagpipes. There’s no hope for me when I hear it with bag pipes.

    • Jamie says:

      That young man was his son Jack. He is the spitting image of his father, particularly in those Navy dress whites.

  19. Yes Doubtful says:

    It’s sort of sad that two people sharing a piece of candy is about the only bipartisanship we see in recent times. I love Michelle and George’s friendship. He was a rotten president, but I appreciate his sense of humor.

    There was a lot of media shock when Ivanka and hubby showed up to the funeral. I assumed that she was friends with Meghan though?

    I like the subtle jabs at the orange one and I love that he was not wanted. We will be seeing a lot more of that in the future. He wants so badly to be popular and with the “in crowd” and they want no part of him.

    • Lightpurple says:

      Ivanka is NOT friends with Megan or any other member of the McCain family. She was not invited and she crashed the funeral where she disrespectfully played with her phone throughout the service.

      • Ladiabla says:

        I know the guys from pod save have mentioned just how far up the dotard’s ass Lindsay Graham is. Supposedly he and McCain were longtime friends. Knowing that McCain expressly did not want trump at his funeral, it is such a weaselly thing to have invited Jarvanka. You couldn’t have respected your friend’s wishes for his own funeral? What as assw$&@. I cannot stand people like that. And the fact that they went and she was seen texting is not at all surprising. trump and his ilk don’t have a cell’s worth of decency among them.

  20. homeslice says:

    I’m no fan of McCain’s politics. But he was a bona fide American Hero. A son of privilege who went to war and was a prisoner. He could have got early release and didn’t go. He stayed. That is character. My own dad is Purple Heart Vietnam Vet. I have such an immense amount of respect for these men. They didn’t come home to parades and congratulations. They were sneered at and spat upon. I saw my own dad, who never, ever spoke about the war, go after a guy at a neighborhood barbecue (after a few too man probably!) who told him, you guys didn’t deserve that memorial (The Wall) because you didn’t win. Horrible.

    • Whynot says:

      I’m sorry your dad had to go through that. He is a hero and should be treated as such.

    • ChristineM says:

      @homeslice while my dad was not a Purple Heart recipient he was in Vietnam & he sounds much like your Dad, never uttered a word about it. It was horrid how this nation treated these returning vets. My dad died 5 years ago from cancer caused by Agent Orang exposure but unfortunately his claim wasn’t all the way through VA yet so our family & he never received settlement money. There is still a $7000 claim on his estate by MEDICARE for his health care during that time because his official cause of death was listed as a heat attack. The VA is horribly understaffed that his claim wasn’t processed in the two years prior to his death. The fact that he had to PROVE he was Vietnam with his discharge papers was just the start of that journey. This info should be in a database somewhere on would think.

      My dad was a proud man who never registered with VA until his sickness though specifically because of the vets poor treatment once they got home. Infuriating all the way around.

      But to the heart of this post, McCain was a hero. Didn’t agree with his politics most times & I was baffled by the Palin fiasco, but I still respect & admire the man for his service to country.

  21. Jamie says:

    “He wanted it to be a rebuke of Trump from top to bottom.”

    I disagree that this was the focus of McCain’s funeral. I see all of the services/ceremony as one. Each part fit into a whole which focused on healing rifts in the country between political parties, reminding Americans of the values our country has stood for that include honor, service, courage, God etc. McCain and others understood that the seeds of tribalism and derision started appearing many years ago…I myself see the election of Trump as a symptom. not as a aberration in a single election. Social media unfortunately is stirring the pot of discord in the country and I think one of the lessons from this past week is for all of us to think twice about what we write/say because each voice-especially those with an internet platform-carries an impact and the question is whether it raises people up to their best selves, brings the country together, teaches values or just sows discord.

  22. VeronicaLodge says:

    my father is a highly decorated Vietnam vet who rarely speaks of his service. If someone had said that @homeslice to him, he would have probably put them through the damned ceiling. I grew up on the west coast and my dad hasn’t been to the wall, yet. The best present I gave him was a pencil rubbing of two of his best friends names from the wall when I lived in D.C.. My boyfriend is national guard and did two active combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. I’ve gotten into heated conversations over a former friend calling guard “weekend warriors”. No ones service should be denigrated.

  23. Sam says:

    Please let’s not forget the fact that GW is a war criminal who can never leave the US because he will be arrested. Nazi’s with puppies, people. I know our current leader is a lunatic, but we shouldn’t forget about what GW did, either.

    • Reef says:

      It’s really infuriating watching in real time the image rehabilitation McCain and GW are going through. These men in particular couldn’t have been more awful but here we, as a nation, are waxing poetically about them both. Especially if you came of age in the last 15 years, how can anyone possibly respect either of these men? It’s like a Twilight Zone episode.

    • Sainthood says:

      @ Sam @ Reef

      Thank you!

    • Div says:

      Bush is a war criminal in regards to Iraq, but he can definitely leave the country without being arrested. I despise him and I do think people are too easy on him most of the time, but also most people are aware of his heinous actions so I don’t think anyone is brushing over them just because they don’t mention he’s a war criminal 24/7.

      @Reef
      McCain was extremely problematic if brave man, but he in no way is on the same level as W who is a war criminal. McCain-Feingold, voting for ACA, being against torture, VA benefits, and working on Vietnam-US relations were all good things McCain accomplished, even if his horribly shitty actions outweigh the good.

      Even the leftiest of the left politicians are saying nice things about McCain. It’s the American way to lionize the dead, even if they don’t deserve all the praise. There are far better causes to risk alienating the population over such as calling out Trump, abolishing ICE, etc. than shitting on a dead man. He wasn’t completely evil and he was a brave war hero, so I find this much easier to swallow then if they were going gaga over McConnnel’s death or something like that.

    • Arpeggi says:

      Absolutely! GW might be a good husband and father, tell funny jokes at parties and be nice to his secretary, it doesn’t change the fact that, if the world was fair, he should be rotting in jail. What he did to the Middle East through Iraq invasion was criminal. Authorizing torture was criminal. He is despicable, even if he seems nice and polite

  24. SM says:

    Bish also tapped Barack on the ass when returining to hos seat and was giggling like a todler when Barack told a joke how McCain had a last laugh at their expense by forcing Bush and Omaba say nice things about him on national tv. He must be so releaved he is not the worst president in the recent history, considered to be dum dum these days.

    • Div says:

      I honestly fear that Trump will be far, far worse than Bush by the time his presidency is over. The American press rarely covers it for some reason, but he quintupled the use of drones compared to Obama. Quintupled! People were outraged about Obama and drones, so Trump’s dramatic, crazy uptick should be creating just as much frenzy in the US but it is not.

      Bush was a puppet to Cheney and Rumsfield in the long run, although that doesn’t absolve him from his crimes it at least explains the thought process behind it. Trump doesn’t listen to anyone, which in a way is even more terrifying. Trump scares me more because he’s erratic and his demand for blood is very random, e.g. the serious talks that are supposedly going on about invading Venezuela of all places.

      I 100% believe he will start a war before the midterms. I don’t think he’ll go into Iran even though there are a lot of anti-Iran hardliners in the US, because he knows he’ll alienate the hell out of the UK, Germany, and France if he starts a war in Iran. But Venezuela, Syria, maybe even Qatar since MBS and several other ME countries have been chomping at the bit to invade there—those are targets he might hit.