The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations

by John McCain

In my last Republican primary in 2016, my opponent accused me of being that lowest of characters in Washington, one of the wretches who lack the fortitude to disdain compromises and remain reliably useless at governing the country. “He’s a champion of compromise,” she warned. Yikes! What horrible transgressions might I yet be capable of committing were the voters of Arizona to send me back to Washington with another six-year mandate to help govern the country? Well, they did send me back. And you’re damn right, I’m a champion of compromise in the governance of a country of 325 million opinionated, quarrelsome, vociferous souls. There is no other way to govern an open society, or more precisely, to govern it effectively. Principled compromises aren’t unicorns. They can be found when we put political advantage slightly second to the problem we’re trying to solve.

Compromise as a virtue