John McCain Lies in State in the Capitol: ‘We Lost a Good One’
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Out of the range of news photographers who captured the day’s every ceremonial flourish, Mr. Graham sat at his desk, Ms. McCain at her husband’s next to him, as they talked quietly for a few minutes in the same spot where Mr. McCain delivered his final Senate floor speech last year. Mr. Graham pulled out two of the roses and gave them to his friend’s widow.
Mr. McCain’s remembrance drew many mourners who identified themselves as proud Democrats, and said they had never voted for the senator and had frequently disagreed with his policies. With sharp criticism of the current administration and the polarization in Congress, they said he was among the last politicians willing to take bipartisan steps.
“We lost a good one in John,” said Kitt Rodkey, 64, who took a personal day from work to pay his respects to Mr. McCain. “No one is perfect, but he came pretty close.”
Standing next to him, Cooper Brockington, a therapist from Reston, Va., nodded emphatically as she fanned herself in the humidity.
“We are all family,” she said. “I believe in paying my respect to our great servants.”
Veterans also came in droves — some wearing hats from the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, along with uniform hats and vests studded with badges and buttons marking their service — to honor a man who was a Navy pilot and spent his years in Congress advocating strongly on behalf of the military and veterans.
“I wanted to come down and shake his hand, and say thank you,” said Carmine Garritano, 71, a retired Army specialist who served in Vietnam, his voice shaking with emotion.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/19/technology/tech-companies-immigration-border.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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