John McCain Praises Obama, Defends Palin

Arizona Sen. John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee and regular critic of President Obama, today called Mr. Obama's speech at a memorial for the victims of the Tucson tragedy"terrific" and implicitly defended former running mate Sarah Palin from criticism in connection with the tragedy.

The president "movingly mourned and honored the victims of Saturday's senseless atrocity outside Tucson, comforted and inspired the country, and encouraged those of us who have the privilege of serving America," McCain wrote in the Washington Post. "He encouraged every American who participates in our political debates - whether we are on the left or right or in the media - to aspire to a more generous appreciation of one another and a more modest one of ourselves."

McCain endorsed Mr. Obama's call for greater civility in political discourse and argued that our differences "are smaller than we sometimes imagine them to be."

"I disagree with many of the president's policies, but I believe he is a patriot sincerely intent on using his time in office to advance our country's cause," he wrote. "I reject accusations that his policies and beliefs make him unworthy to lead America or opposed to its founding ideals. And I reject accusations that Americans who vigorously oppose his policies are less intelligent, compassionate or just than those who support them."

McCain also praised the president for declining to tie the attack to "some participants in our political debates." While he did not specifically name Palin, the former Alaska governor who he plucked from relative obscurity to join him on the presidential ticket, his words seemed calibrated to address the criticism she has faced.

"Political leaders are not and cannot reasonably be expected to be indifferent to the cruelest calumnies aimed at their character," he wrote. "Imagine how it must feel to have watched one week ago the incomprehensible massacre of innocents committed by someone who had lost some essential part of his humanity, to have shared in the heartache for its victims and in the admiration for those who acted heroically to save the lives of others - and to have heard in the coverage of that tragedy voices accusing you of complicity in it."

Added McCain: "There are too many occasions when we lack that empathy and mutual respect on all sides of our politics, and in the media. But it is not beyond us to do better; to behave more modestly and courteously and respectfully toward one another; to make progress toward the ideal that beckons all humanity: to treat one another as we would wish to be treated."

"We are Americans and fellow human beings, and that shared distinction is so much more important than the disputes that invigorate our noisy, rough-and-tumble political culture," he concluded. "That is what I heard the president say on Wednesday evening. I commend and thank him for it."