John McCain arrived in Washington ready to take on the town. With his hero’s story and honored family, he was one of those few congressional freshmen who automatically attract attention.
He also bucked the political trend, having been elected as a conservative Republican in 1982, a year when 26 of his fellow party members lost their House seats. But voters’ thumping of Republicans at the polls in that midterm election did nothing to humble the outspoken McCain.
It took a fellow Arizonan to teach the young hothead how to get things done for the people of his district so that he could succeed at his job, not just make speeches. Mo Udall, the liberal Democrat who had lost in his bids for the House leadership and for the presidency, was one of the most beloved and respected men in Congress, in no small part because of his wit and candor.
Udall reached out to McCain, including him in events back in the state, giving him credit where credit wasn’t due, surrounding him with good will. And the student took it all in, coming to understand the value of compromise and of comradeship. When Udall was felled by Parkinson’s and couldn’t see or speak,
John McCain would visit his mentor regularly, reading to him in the hopes that…
