McCain Stresses Bipartisanship at End of Tour
John McCain's biography tour returned home today with his final stop in Prescott, Ariz., where he said he learned the value of bipartisanship from former Sens. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., and Mo Udall, D-Ariz., and vowed to lead in the same tradition.
On the steps of Yavapai County Courthouse, where Goldwater launched his bid for the presidency in 1964, McCain delivered the last speech of his "Service to America" tour and paid tribute to Goldwater and Udall.
"Barry Goldwater, conservative icon and authentic maverick, did more than any single person to break the Democratic Party's hold on Arizona politics, and the East Coast's hold on the Republican Party. He was irascible and principled, fiercely independent and deeply patriotic. He was his own man always and his country's loyal servant," he said.
"Like Barry, Mo Udall rose to prominence in Arizona and the country without ever losing his authenticity. He graced our nation's politics for thirty years with humility, kindness and a legendary wit. Like Barry, he ran unsuccessfully for President. He had known important victories and hard defeats. And like Barry, he was never changed by either," he said.
McCain explained that lessons they taught him in bipartisanship and he vowed to lead in that example. "Mo Udall and Barry Goldwater taught me to believe that we are Americans first and partisans second, and I want to be a President that honors their faith in us," he said.
In 1986, McCain succeeded Goldwater in the U.S. Senate and added that Udall took him under his wing and showed him the ropes.
"When I entered politics here, I was viewed with resentment by some for my lack of an Arizona pedigree," he said. "And in truth, although I worked hard, I did not know as much about the state as one of its representatives to Congress should know. Moreover, in my two terms in the House, I had the reputation of an often confrontational partisan," he said.
Udall pulled McCain over and helped him introduced him to others and lent his prestige to help McCain build credibility. "I knew Mo's affected confidence in me was an act of kindness and offered with the trust that I would eventually learn enough about the issues to warrant his faith," he said.
McCain said the challenges America faces now require working together. "Challenges such as entitlement reform, energy security, health care, the housing crisis, and a global threat from Islamic extremists, to name a few of the most important, that require a strict attention to our responsibilities as public servants and our recognition that we cannot discharge those responsibilities to the satisfaction of the people we serve unless we work cooperatively across party lines without compromising our principles," he said.
"We have nothing to fear from each other. We are arguing over the means to better secure our freedom, promote the general welfare and defend our ideals. It should remain an argument among friends; each of us struggling to hear our conscience, and heed its demands; each of us, despite our differences, united in our great cause, and respectful of the goodness in each other."
Yavapai County is heavily Republican area and McCain has ended each of his Senate races with speeches at this site.