A politician’s plea for imperfection

Senator John McCain stood in the well of the Senate, obvious scar over his left eye from his tumor surgery, and gave the kind of speech which you only hear from a politician when he’s no longer worried about the next election.

It included a confession.

“Sometimes I’ve let my passion rule my reason. Sometimes I’ve made it harder to find common ground because of something harsh I said to a colleague.”

And he had a suggestion for breaking those bad habits.

“Stop listening to the bombastic loudmouths on the radio and television and the Internet. To hell with them.”

The applause was tepid. Probably because some of those voices were right there in the chamber.

But his point was that government by talk show has backfired on his party. It’s actually made Obamacare more popular.

“The Congress must now return to regular order, hold hearings, receive input from members of both parties…”

That got a better reception, which is remarkable because his theme was that the Senate should be about compromise, “Even when it requires us to do something less satisfying than winning,” he said.

It’s a radical idea these days. He was telling a nation where the most popular sport is full-contact, everybody-gets-a-concussion NFL football; that in the Senate, opposing teams should help each other plant the ball in the end zone.

“Let’s see if we can pass something that will be imperfect, full of compromises, and not very pleasing to implacable partisans on either side, but that might provide workable solutions to problems Americans are struggling with today.”

Imagine that! Actually, you’ll have to. Because it is a line you’ll never see in a campaign ad.

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