What will be Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)'s legacy?

[Suburbia]

What will be Sen. John McCain's legacy? His Navy career? His Senate career? His 2000 presidential campaign? His 2008 presidential campaign?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Self-serving moderate hero.

[Del Tachi]

Self-serving moderate hero.

[windjammer]

Self-serving moderate hero.

And you forget major Iraq war supporter

[RINO Tom]

Above average and more memorable than any current Senator.

[KingSweden]

That for better or worse, he served his country

[Democrat 2028]

Being the 2008 Republican nominee.

[IndustrialJustice]

A bloodthirsty psychopath from youth until death, and the claimer of untold innocent lives (both at his own hands overseas and through political machinations back home).

[Badger]

Being the 2008 Republican nominee.

[Alabama_Indy10]

That for better or worse, he served his country

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

Losing the 2008 Presidential election to Barack Obama & being a POW during the Vietnam War.

[The DEI Hire]

That for better or worse, he served his country

[C r a b c a k e]

As a man who spent years rewriting his own legacy. A vanity very similar to Obama (and Trump) in fact. His Vietnam tales especially are very fanciful: e.g. he never talked or wrote about the fact a Vietnamese man risked his own life by saving the then Lt Colonel when he crashed his aircraft, and then proceeded to snub his saviour so he wouldn't have to share the glory. (This Vietnamese man once came to America to reunite with the senator, at which point McCain simply gave him a ten dollar seal from the Congres gift shop and sent him on his way)

[Chief Justice Keef]

Hopefully this quote.

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[OSR stands with Israel]

Literally a  Freedom Fighter

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

As a man who spent years rewriting his own legacy. A vanity very similar to Obama (and Trump) in fact. His Vietnam tales especially are very fanciful: e.g. he never talked or wrote about the fact a Vietnamese man risked his own life by saving the then Lt Colonel when he crashed his aircraft, and then proceeded to snub his saviour so he wouldn't have to share the glory. (This Vietnamese man once came to America to reunite with the senator, at which point McCain simply gave him a ten dollar seal from the Congres gift shop and sent him on his way)

Let's not forget how he also totally abandoned his first family.

[Anti-Bothsidesism]

That for better or worse, he served his country

[Doomer]

That he put country before party most of the time.  That's almost unheard of nowadays.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

McCain's image as a "maverick" was largely manufactured. At least 90% of the time he was a loyal foot soldier for his party leadership, whether it was Bush and Iraq or McConnell and obstructing Obama "just cause". A couple of votes that deviates from the party's orthodoxy won't change the overall picture.

As much as I appreciate his vote against the repeal, let's remember it was already effectively killed by Susan Collins. But of course McCain jumped in and took the credit, something he'd been very good in politics.

[dw93]

Mixed, similar to Ted Kennedy.

[SWE]

A charlatan who, despite being a loyal Republican foot soldier and blood thirsty war monger, managed to convince large swaths of the country that he was some respectable maverick.

[Wells]

Unfortunately, he will be remembered in a positive light.

[here2view]

Mixed, similar to Ted Kennedy.

[Mr.Bakari-Sellers]

Patient Bill of Rights, Campaign Finance Reform and Unfortunately, the Sarah Palin debacle.

[Orser67]

I think he'll ultimately be remembered primarily as a war hero who became a "maverick Republican," i.e. he wasn't necessarily a centrist but he was someone who was willing to take on the establishment and work with Democrats.

Of course, his actual political career was a lot more complex than that, but McCain's strong reputation with national journalists will help his political legacy a lot.