I am going to miss John McCain so damn much. The man is the best Republican on the national stage in the last twenty years. He has been one of the very few to consistently put the national good ahead of party advantage. He's been a national treasure, whose voice has been largely silenced not only because of his health problems but because he doesn't scream at people; he just speaks his mind.

McCain deserved the nomination in 2000, and but for Karl Rove's filthy tricks (damn him to the hell I wish existed for people like him) he would have had it; then, whether Gore or McCain had won, the nation would have been in good hands. But we got Bush the Younger instead, and we all know how that worked out. And when he ran against Obama, I knew again that a President McCain would be alright. (Not so much a President Palin, so I would be hoping he stayed in good health.)

I just saw once again the moment when John McCain corrected a supporter on President Obama's heritage, correcting a little old lady who said she couldn't trust him "because he's an Arab." McCain replied "No ma'am. He's a decent family man, a citizen." And while it may not have been the most elegant response (Arab citizens are certainly trustworthy, after all), the point came across.

Can you imagine the current incumbent doing anything like that? He would be the one fanning the flames, no matter who his opponent was. But McCain sees politics as a matter of doing what's right, not a matter of winning at any cost. And that's why he lost the nomination in 2000.

John McCain was too good for his party. I wish you'd been a Democrat, John. I'll miss you.