John McCain deserved more than sympathy from Trump

There are times to be brutal, there are times to be indifferent and there are times to be magnanimous and gracious. Donald Trump chose indifference when marking the death of Senator John McCain. Everyone but Trump has aknowledged that McCain, while he had his faults and weaknesses, was nevertheless an icon in American politics, a man with a huge reputation for integrity, courage, patriotism and driven devotion to the US military. He is a massive loss to the nation. But Trump offered just sympathy to his family and vetoed a White House eulogy of his career and achievements. McCain was no friend of Trump's, that's for sure. But McCain's passing surely gave Trump a chance to say that the senator had been a great man whether he liked him or not. But he just couldn't say it. So it's not surprising he won't be invited to the funeral or memorial service. Every other former president has been effusive in their praise of McCain. It's a sad day when the encumbent president cannot voice the same affection for a man who strived all his working life to serve his nation. McCain was an extraordinary character. He wanted to be president but failed, the second time after making the mistake of appointing Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential candidate and having the bad luck to face Barack Obama as his opponent. By all accounts he had a fearsome temper which might have caused problems had he made it to the White House. But other presidents have had tempers, Nixon, for a start, and even Obama was known to get angry. But my personal view, having spent three years as Pentagon Correspondent for The Times in Washington, is that John McCain would have made a fine president. I wish I could say the same about the current president who didn't have the grace to say kind words about McCain on his passing. Even his wife, Melania, thanked him for his service!!