McCain: Obama Thanked Me For My Vote To Save Obamacare

[DonViejo]

Source: The Daily Beast




The former presidential competitors shared a word after the pivotal vote.

GIDEON RESNICK
05.10.18 8:02 AM ET

Before he cast his dramatic vote in the wee hours of the morning to kill his party’s best Obamacare repeal effort, Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) took a call from Donald Trump urging him to reconsider. By that point, the Arizona Republican had already made up his mind, and would, as he put it, politely rebuff the president. Moments later, McCain wandered on to the floor and dramatically thrust his thumb down, signalling his no vote.

The moment earned McCain plaudits from Democrats along with the ire of Trump. It also got him another phone call.

“Among the people who called to thank me was President Obama,” McCain writes in his upcoming book The Restless Wave. The book is due out on May 22 but The Daily Beast obtained an early copy.

McCain and Obama had run against each other for the presidency in 2008. But over time, they had re-established a solid working relationship. Both share a healthy skepticism of the current president, a point the Senator appeared to underscore later in the book.

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/mccain-obama-thanked-me-for-my-vote-to-save-obamacare?ref=home

[yallerdawg]

1. Deep down, John McCain has some admirable qualities.

And in this particular case, I don't mean 6 feet down.

[Utah Grizzlee]

2. Class Acts

[bullwinkle428]

3. This news does not surprise me a bit - does that not speak volumes about PBO?

[karynnj]

4. In some ways, it shows more about McCain

McCain, blew off a personal plea by his party's President to make a vote that he defined more on the procedures not being followed than on the value of Obamacare. McCain was with every Republican in fighting ACA. Unlike some other Republicans - Hatch, Collins etc - who had supported and even cosponsored similar measures in the past, McCain was philosophically against the program. He did not change his mind on that. McCain has always been a small government conservative.

However, what he did object to was the unprecedented way there were no hearings. This was an attempt under reconciliation to end a major program with a slim majority - and no plan of replacement. To me, this was a very principled vote. I suspect it was not just this issue, but the way the entire government was being run with no checks on an extreme President.

President Obama's call to thank him was nice and clearly out of respect for McCain. Many of McCain's former Democratic peers have long been vocal on their respect for him. In fact, in 2007/2008 many here posted that they were concerned that McCain could use the words of praise and defense that people like Joe Biden, John Kerry, Bill and Hillary Clinton etc had spoken or written. (As a side note, that was more a reflection on the polarization by 2008 - friendships across the aisle were historically the norm.)

I wonder if the quality of that phone call might have been why McCain has asked President Obama to give a eulogy for him.

[IronLionZion]

5. Such a maverick

It would be great if all Americans had access to the same health care that McCain has

[winstars]

6. Fuck him, didn't he later vote to kill the Affordable Care Act???

[Cha]

7. That sounds like my President.. maybe

that's why McCain wants him to be a part of the Eulogy?

[truthisfreedom]

8. I thank you as well, old man.