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

by John McCain

I was thanked for my vote by Democratic friends more profusely than I should have been for helping save Obamacare. That had not been my goal. I had campaigned on repeal and replace. The bill we voted on would only have repealed it. I’m not sure we’ll ever agree on a replacement, and so perhaps all we can do is try to fix parts of Obamacare. I would prefer something more comprehensive, but that might not be attainable in the near future. As I’ve noted already, sweeping changes aren’t easily achieved in our system of government. Incremental reform is often all that is possible, and there’s value and honor in that. Among the people who called to thank me was President Obama. I appreciated his call, but, as I said, my purpose hadn’t been to preserve his signature accomplishment but to insist on a better alternative, and to give the Senate an opportunity to work together to find one. He hadn’t called to lobby me before the vote, which I had appreciated.