To the extent the popular media deals critically with McCain’s foreign policy record, it’s depicted as a series of honest mistakes. Not grievous offenses. They live in this ensconced fantasy world where war, trauma, and death have no real moral consequences. It’s just a game.
Even in death, John McCain has one final burn planned for two of his biggest foes — Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump — at a moment when much of the world will be watching https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/28/john-mccain-pallbearer-russia-799061…
The idea that McCain could be successfully repackaged as a “human rights champion” is just a breathtaking triumph of revisionist hagiography. There are almost no words.
I don't necessarily want to tweet 400 times about McCain but this death has produced more worshipful media conformity than any since Reagan. It's such a telling illustration of the true national civic religion (war). So I feel I have no choice!
In this piece I recall my McCain anecdote to illustrate the futility of recalling McCain anecdotes. He was not our national uncle. He was the most prominent decades-long advocate of a political program which wrought incalculable destruction
In fairness, it would've been hard to predict that Lanny Davis is not a reliable person. Oh wait: it was the most predictable thing ever
Michael Tracey added,
Josh DawseyVerified account@jdawsey1
Michael Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis tells @perlberg he was a source for CNN story and that he lied about it being a source on air with CNN before he said the story’s info was wrong. Amazing. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stevenperlberg/lanny-davis-cnn-trump-tower-story…
