stuart: no matter what. elizabeth: over four years. stuart: no matter what. ashley: yes. they love him that much. stuart: it's green bay, i didn't think they had that kind of money. i'd love to the talk more, but i'm out of time. neil, it's yours. neil: you and me both, buddy. well, apparently, they're going to pay him in cheese -- [laughter] stuart: very good, very good. [laughter] neil: the extent of my green bay knowledge. thank you very much, my friend. we're following a couple of things going on, including the selloff in the market here. a lot of it is on skepticism that the canadians will rush to the altar in time. tomorrow's the day they've got to do it or they're not part of this trade deal. they won't be part of this one because of all the machinery involved in getting it to congress and all of that. so is we are expecting -- so we are expecting to hear from the canadian foreign minister. remember, she interrupted her trip to europe to skedaddle back here and try to cobble together something so the canadians wouldn't be left out.

we also understand the president has talked to prime minister trudeau of canada, the president emphasizing he called me, i didn't call him. whatever. what came of that call, we don't know, but the canadian prime minister is eager to close a deal as well. separately, we are following, obviously, this long good-bye, very sad good-bye to john mccain. it's been remarkable, what's been going on in phoenix, arizona, outside this capitol there. thousands of arizonans, temperatures in excess of 105 degrees yesterday. that didn't stop better than 6,000 residents and those who came in as far away as california, montana, other places just to say good-bye to the six-term senator who passed away last week. the memorial service itself will kick off in about an hour from now. hillary vaughn is in phoenix with the latest on that front. hey, hillary. >> reporter: hey, neil. services starting at 1 p.m. eastern. former vice president joe biden

will deliver a tribute. he is one of mccain's best friends. he considers himself a part of the family. but right now senator mccain is still lying in state at the capitol. any moment now we're going to see live pictures of the motorcade carrying him along with his family and closest friends here, about 8 miles away to where we are, at the north phoenix baptist church. there are flags, mccain campaign signs decorating the route, supporters coming out to salute the senator for his service on his way here. former vice president delivering a tribute but also several teams are going to be here today. the arizona diamondbacks and the arizona cardinals' players, staff, coaches coming out. one of those will deliver a tribute, the wide receiver for the cardinals, larry fitzgerald, will deliver remarks. he was very close to mccain. this whole entire ceremony is going to last about two hours. there are 1,000 seats available to the public. we already saw a long line trickle into the church here.

we're expecting it to be standing room only. after the ceremony, the two-hour ceremony, he will then motorcade and leave arizona for his last time and head to washington where he will lie in state at the nation's capitol tomorrow. neil: all right. thank you very, very much, healthily. sorry for that disruption there. you're looking at cindy mccain, married for the better part of 38 years. she's been a strong face throughout all of this with the family. i mean, this is a process that, as you know, in this case is going to be going on right through sunday, and it's tough on a family to do it on their own, nevertheless get the glare of the world and the media's attention every step of the way. we'll be monitoring these developments, also monitoring that trade deal with canada, whether it happens today, tomorrow. but by the end of tomorrow the, it's got to happen in order to get a three-way deal done and submitted to congress and have canada's name stamped on it. edward lawrence in washington with the latest on that.

the markets seem to be, you know, losing a little hope that it's going to happen. i don't know why that is, edward, but what is happening? >> reporter: well, there are intense negotiations going on here. in fact, the canadians seem to be moving towards that friday deadline. as you mentioned earlier, the main trade negotiator for canada kind of tripped -- cut a trip to germany short in order to make these negotiations. she has her delegation working late into the night last night, early this morning to try and get this deal done. it's almost like speed dating with the u.s.-mexican agreement. >> we continue to be encouraged by the constructive atmosphere that i think both countries are bringing to the table. there is a lot of goodwill. it's a lot that we're trying to do in a short period of time. we're working very intensely. >> reporter: and president trump tweeting his possible hope for a deal with canada. he's tweeting out this morning

saying that the news from the financial markets is even better than anticipated. for all of you that have made a forthe country in the markets or -- fortune in the markets or seen your 401(k)s rise beyond wildest expectations, more good news is coming. still, we do have a long way to go in a very short amount of time. the negotiations inside have been described as intense inside here. now later on this afternoon the canadian prime minister will update the elected head of all the providences in canada on exactly what's happening with these nafta negotiations. the fact that that call's taking place is movement forward with towards a deal -- forward towards the a deal. neil? neil: thank you very much. the sticking point could be just what we're looking at longer term production and how much of a vehicle is maded in north america -- made in north america, canada, the united states, mexico. but there is a move afoot here, as edward touched on at the very beginning, that maybe eventually we get rid of tariffs altogether. the e.u. is willing to consider that, talk as well that that is

a goal by the mexicans, might welcome down the road the canadians. all of this began with the president saying longer term that's a worthy goal for the entire planet. to blake burman at the white house on all of that. blake? >> reporter: over in the european union earlier today, the top trade commissioner there made some headlines, turned some heads when she said the european union would be willing to bring tariffs levels on automobiles down to zero. as you remember, president trump had floated the possibility of auto tariffs against the european union at one point, so this appears to be at least somewhat of a pivot from the e.u., and you would think that would be celebrated back here stateside. i am told the, however, that is not the case. one diplomatic official telling me that this morning, and here's why. i'm the told that president trump does not see the auto issue between the united states and the european union as a stand-alone issue. rather, the president sees this as, i guess, one cog or one

piece i guess you could say z, as part of a bigger deal that he wants to see with the european union. you'll remember earlier this summer inside the rose garden at the white house the president and the head of the e.u. jean clawpped clunker, specifically that was named today to me, agriculture, steel, aluminum and medical equipment. so bottom line, when you strip all of this down to its core, a movement to zero tariffs on autos between the united states and europe, yes. will this be a stand-alone deal though? i am told at least as president trump sees it, no, it will not be a stand-alone deal. he wants this as one component of a larger deal with the european union, neil. neil: thank you very much, my friend, blake burman. a real quick look at the markets, the dow is still down about 106 points. technology, by and large, is

getting, you know, buffetted a little bit here. not so, amazon. up about $20 right now. now at 2,018 a share, a little bit north of that right now. it's lifting all technology issues. your looking at -- you're look at apple as well, i believe an all-time high. apple is indicating it's going to be the unveiling its new iphones, several of them, including a better than $1,000 model that will have a much bigger screen, a 6.4-inch screen, on september 12th. we're keeping an eye on that, also keeping an eye on what is happening right now in phoenix, arizona. the body of john mccain has now left the state capitol there in arizona. it's going to be going to the north phoenix baptist church where what is expected to be a two hour service that will feature comments by the vice president, joe biden, the former vice president, and a good buddy of his, tommy espinosa, a democrat, who often had fights with the senator but said he was one of the best men i ever knew

and one of the most decent beside. so the second phase in this long good-bye to john mccain commences now with this short trip to the north phoenix baptist church and, of course, the ceremony that will start or in less a than an hour. to former indiana governor, purdue university president mitch daniels. governor, always good to have you, under mixed circumstances today, sir. you knew the senator quite well. you knew of his outrage for all parties to get things done. you were pretty famous for that yourself. but a lot of people saying with his dedeparture from the scene, so is that hope for, you know, bipartisanship gone. it seems a little severe to me. i think it's in us to do that and to show a little bit of flexibility, but what do you think? >> let's hope for a better result than that, neil. it could be that the last of john mccain's countless contributions to america will be

to recall us, recall to us the qualities he embodied, the characteristics that he represented throughout his public life and private life. i think the outpouring this week, the special, unique emotion around this event is in large part because people reflecting on his life and the way, the approach he brought to the public side of his life has been in short supply lately. and maybe instead of going out of our, of the public space, it'll inspire more people to return the those same qualities and approaches. neil: are are you surprise, governor, the reaction his death is getting? i think -- i was reading a story somewhere, i'm sorry, i don't remember where of all the material that's come out on john mccain that as he was planning his funeral, and he was quite

detailed in those plans once he had gotten word of how tough this whole brain cancer prognosis was looking, that he thought it would be tough to get approval to lie in state, of course, in the state capitol, to say nothing of our national capitol. and every step of the way he was shocked to find out, yes, yes, yes, absolutely, absolutely. and this coverage that has ensued since his death, what do you think of all that? >> i think he was always more modest than his achievements would suggest, ask that's what's -- and that's what's reflected there. i'm not surprised. either given his importance to the country over all these years. but again, i want to go back to the qualities he personified, i think, for so many people that a lot of us regreat are not as evidence -- regret are not as evident these days. someone who always stood

iron-like for principle. but on the other hand, was willing later to admit error if he thought he saw it. someone who would be a very fierce debater and advocate for his viewpoints but maintain, as you already indicated, warm personal relationships with people with whom he disagreed. there's been so little of that on display on all sides of our political arena lately that i'm not at all surprised that his passing has brought out such an effusion of emotion and, i think, nostalgia for a time when those things were more common. neil: yeah, it wasn't all that long ago, including your time in power as well. governor, thank you very, very much. an excellent perspective on the part of those who knew john mccain with a comment from a close friend who said i knew him as an urgent man. even when he knew he was dying,

he was urgent about the message he wanted to get out before he did. message received. more after this. xfinity mobile is a new wireless network

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the debate over granting illegal immigrants in this country those full benefits. who's going to pay for that? >> it's so un-american, to me, and mean-spirited for people to turn away a person just because they are undocumented -- neil: well, mean-spirited on the people who are paying the legal -- >> no, what mean-spirited -- neil: would you pay for it? would you pay more in taxes -- >> yes. neil: -- to provide this? >> yes, i would, because it's humane. neil: you -- [inaudible conversations] you keep saying humane, you keep saying humane, but you stick the responsibility on people who quite humanely are getting taxed to death, and they can't afford it. >> neil, let's think about this -- neil: wait a minute, hear me out. if they might raise their hand and say, stop. >> we're talking about california. we're talking about a state that has the highest population of undocumented immigrants, so are we surprised that their family members are saying, hey --

[inaudible conversations] neil: on a per capita basis of any state in the nation, you are talking about a state that is bleeding businesses faster than any other, you're talking about a state that has seen other states take it to the cleaners because it has responded to the relief in taxes that california refuses to see. you seem to be giving them yet another reason to give up. >> oh, i am not -- [laughter] i am not giving them a reason to give up. all i'm saying is once again -- neil: you just spent their money. >> no. [laughter] neil: you just spent their money. you just told legal residents you have a moral obligation to pay for those here illegally. >> let me tell you something, i haven't told them anything, because i live in new york city, okay? i'm not voting in california -- neil: you just told them over there that this is a good idea, you should happily pay for it. i'll give you credit here, you're saying everybody should pitch in and pay. >> everybody. neil: but everybody is not going the pitch in and pay, a few are because it's money that isn't

yours. >> i think the details still need to be worked out -- neil: and the details include something called math. fortunately, we saved a lot of time there by talking over one another, but my whole point was not to sort of judge this and play the emotional strings, but just the money in and money out thing here, and if this is what democratic mayor is going to find out, newsom, who he wants to be governor. he thinks that's a popular cause. will everybody agree with that and pay for that? the question, will they pay for it? former chief of staff to senator mike lee, we've got boyd matheson, democratic strategist howard franklin. boyd, that's my only point here. there's no denying it's a compassionate thing to do, to consider, i take nothing away from her and others who espouse this for whatever reason. they are illegals, but i'll leave that out of it. one of the issues i raised though, where is the compassion for the american taxpayer, in the -- in this case for the

california taxpayer who has to foot the bill? >> yeah, and it's true, you actually hit the right thing there, neil. you can do this in a way that is compassionate, that is who we are as the american people. but it is how do you pay for it and what's the right process for that and what about the hard working men and women of america that suddenly are being burdened with so many more things. but it's part of where we're really going wrong in terms of our politics. you know, it's easy to run as a socialist and a lot of giveaways and things like that in the spring or the summer. it's very difficult to win on that in the fall. and i think that's' what we're going to see a lot of things get to the, ultimately for those people who are paying the bill a lot of this isn't going to ring true to them in the end. and that's where i think the midterms are really going to fall, is what's the reality? what are the hard working people of the country really going to come down and say, hey, that sounds great, but either i'm paying for that or my kids or grandkids are paying for it, and

that's going to be the problem. neil: i think what happens, howard, and this happens on the other side too, republicans want to boost the military, come up with no way to pay for that. so a pox on both houses, i want to put that out there, because i'm the math guy. it's not a red or blue thing, it's just follow the money. you want to do this, you want to pay for kids' college education, do you want to forgive their debt, provide relief to those in the duress, you know, on their mortgages, what have you, invariably overwhelming numbers say yes, yes, yes. when they're asked separately do you want to kick in some dough for that, no, no, no, no. it's a very different thing. so it's one thing to propose this stuff, it's another to propose means by which you pay for this stuff. what do you think? >> yeah, absolutely. i think you hit the nail on the head, you know? obviously, unfunded mandates are as old as country itself, and there are plenty of things i think democrats who are running on midterm tickets in november are really looking to underscore the fact that we have choices to

make. it's not a question of either/or. i think it's really about setting priorities and also acknowledging that, you know, six, seven years ago president obama rescued us from the worst recession in modern history. and many state governments, state agencies have been filling their coffers, building strong surpluses over the last five or six years. so it's not a question of, you know, not being -- or of taxing or new taxes -- neil: well, but i think you'd be the first to recognize that california still has a hot of debt on a per capita basis -- >> sure, absolutely. neil: and a lot of businesses are run in a way there's a reason for this. i'm sure news like this would not entice them to stay. but leaving that just aside, boyd, i'm wondering how republicans answer it without looking heartless because invariably, and i got it myself, oh, you don't care about people, etc., etc. my point is i care about everybody and the means by which we can take care of those who are legally here and the bills they pay to take care of those who technically shouldn't even be here, and then it gets to a

slippery slope of republicans are indifferent, the conservatives are callous to the needs of people. and then the argument goes away. nothing is done. >> i think it's difficult to be, i think it's really difficult to both advocate for a border wall for billions of dollars on the one hand and then say you can't pay for social services or extending services to undocumented immigrants in the california on the other. and i think -- neil: well, how is that inconsistent? one wants to get a handle -- i'm not saying a border wall is the answer, but one wants to control the onslaught of illegals who slip in here, and the other is rewarding them once they do. >> and i think, neil -- [inaudible conversations] >> go ahead. [laughter] >> neil, i think you can look at these things in a way that is compassionate, that is the core of everything. and i'm going to join you in the equal opportunity offender category that, yes, we do need both sides of the aisle to look at things whether it's military

spending or whether it's border security and whether it's, you know, some of these benefits to illegals. all of those things need to be on the table, because we need to have a very different kind of conversation in the country. and i think we all can agree that what we have the get to is the people who aren't really thrilled with president trump but they don't think hillary would have been any better either, it's the disengaged that we've got to get to. and things like these, you know, the strident voices on the far left and the far right, the angry voices, the frustrated voices, they're causing more and more people to disengage, and that's the big worry. center-left and the center-right where we can solve a lot of these issues and get down as you said, neil, to the green issues, the economy. and people recognize, the american people know our politics has failed, but america won't. and the reason it won't is because of the people who are out there today raising their family, working their job, making a difference in their community. i happen to live in a great place where we have a thriving

economy, free market principles, and we have strong civil society where communities and neighborhoods rally and where businesses are involved in the community and making a difference. and everything else kind of gets to the distraction point. neil: no, i agree with you there, but, howard, i want to the give you the final word because i think it doesn't do anyone any good, particularly any candidate from any party who makes a ton of promises and does not specify how he or she will pay for them. so it's all good for the mayor running for governor to say, look, i want to do this, this, and this and point to san francisco as an example and not point out that this was a cost borne by businesses leaving his city and rich individuals now being taxed to death in that city. and not everyone was bearing that cost. and now he wants to bring it statewide. he should have a plan. he should spell it out how he would pay for it, and this applies to a lot of these other goals. if people want to sign on to that, that's their right, their vote and their choice.

>> well, mario cuomo said that we campaign in poet ily but -- poetry but govern in prose. obviously, mayor newsom has seen the diet geist in 2018 and is, obviously, looking to offer, you know, greater and more progressive policies to the folks who are going to decide -- neil: do you agree with that approach? do you think that approach risks being a little disingenuous? >> i think it risks being disingenuous. i don't know if that's the question. obviously, the man can do math. i think really the question of recalibrating priorities and figuring out how much you can actually make good on of the promises you're making on the leadup to the actual campaign or election. neil: gentlemen, we'll watch it closely here. again, if we could just keep this away from all the emotional issues back and forth, we're not tugging on heart strings here, we're just looking at money and how we can commit to the things that are a passionate and we deeply feel about. but you're not calling one side naive any more than you're

calling the other side heartless. let's sit down, let's get around a couple of calculators and spread sheets and see what we can make happen and then see what we can make a financial reality. promises cost money. so show me the money. more after this. an incomplete job from any one else. why accept it from your allergy pills? flonase sensimist relieves all your worst symptoms, including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. and all from a gentle mist you can barely feel. flonase sensimist.

welcome back to "cavuto coast to coast," i'm gerri willis live from the floor of the new york stock exchange. let's take a look at u.s. markets this month for august today. major averages up at least 2.5% in august, the dow up two months in a row, and i think we've got some breaking news. neil: we do, indeed. the canadian foreign minister is talking to reporters. [speaking french]

>> good afternoon, good to see you guys. as we said, our officials did some work. they prepared some issues for me and ambassador lighthizer to take some decisions, and we're about to go in, continue negotiating and to precisely that. and because i used to be a journalist and i know how hard it is, these waiting out and boiling, we have brought you some popsicles. >> oh! >> so we'll see you guys later, okay? >> one quick question? neil: okay. you don't see that every day for the press corps outside a washington, d.c. event as the canadians gather to sort of hammer out some sort of accord, they left popsicles for a very hot and sweaty washington, d.c. press group. i don't know if that's going the make their questions any nicer, because the last thing you really want is, you know, a popsicle when you finally realize that you might be

waiting for nothing. we'll see. virginia republican congressman scott taylor on that. of course, congressman you heard this was canada's foreign minister saying we're still hammering these things out, we still hope to get something done. tomorrow would be the day they'd have to do it at least for congress to the look at the overall package. how optimistic are you that they will? >> i think they will. i mean, i think you saw -- first of all, i like the tactic with the popsicles. i'm going to try that locally in the near future. [laughter] i think they will. mexico's come along, and i think they have to, quite frankly. i'm optimistic about it. cautiously, of course, but we'll see what comes out of it tomorrow. neil: you know, they had to hurry back, in the, ms. freeland did from a european trip when the mexicans scored that deal with the united states, and they didn't want to be left out, so talks that hadn't been going anywhere with the canadians -- in fact, they'd been frozen in place for, i believe, a couple of months -- they're scrambling to get something done right now.

if they do come to the table and get a deal, do you think it puts pressure on china to do the same? >> look, i think that all this stuff puts pressure on these trade feels and with china as well, you know? i understand that there's uncertainty and people are worried in some sectors, of course, about trade. but this is not a new issue, right? this is something that subsequent presidents have been talking about, a problem. and, of course, americans as well. i come from an area that's sort of depressed, if you will, a lot of working poor families and have seen their jobs go overseas, you know? so i think you have to give the president space to work on this, and we're in a position of economic strength right now, and what better time to do it. you've had people talk about it for a long time, but he's actually doing it. and i understand he may fail in some respects, and people might be worried about him overplaying some things. but, look, i'm cautiously optimistic about where we're going. neil: you know, congressman, morgan stanley, the big

brokerage house, put out a report saying china might not necessarily be rushed to make a deal, leaving aside the stubbornness on the part of the chinese to budge on some of this stuff, but also the idea that the economy, you know, sort of ruffled as it was by all of this trade back and forth is holding up pretty well. their markets have rebounded a little bit, and they're in no rush and feel -- nor should they be -- to do a fast deal with the president. so let's say they delay and don't come up with anything, and maybe it's for quite some time. then what? >> well, let me say that, look, i think it's not the intent of this administration to, you know, crush the chinese economy. i don't think that's really good for anyone, quite frankly. but you obviously want to change some behavior with stealing of intellectual properties, currency manipulation, of course, mercantilist trade policies and cheating on trade, massive imbalance there in

trade. and also, look, one of the things as a military guy that concerns me, and there's a scholar out of harvard that talks about status quo power and a rising power. and more often than not throughout history, they have ended up in conflict. and you see china with a lot of their reserves, they're putting it right into military spending. so, quite frankly, the if we can do it economically and sort of change some of that military trajectory in china, then good. that's good for us because there's no question that their blueprint in their military spending is to spend in a way that goes against our weaknesses. there's no question about that. so, look, i don't think we're trying to hurt the chinese economy, i think we're just trying to get things back into balance, trying to change some behavior. and, look, i'm not concerned necessarily that the chinese might not come to the table tomorrow. i don't -- you know, this is something that's been going on for a long time that we've acknowledged, both democrats and republicans. and i think eventually they will. and i'm not under the illusion that's going to the happen next week. i think they will hold out as

much as they can. neil: the only thing i liked about the morgan stanley report, sir, is that despite what we argue back and and forth on tariffs and how they threaten and hurt an economy, the upshot was at least when it comes to our tariffs on the chinese that they won't hurt them, that the chinese economy can more than deal with them which, again, argues that point to your point that we won't see them settle on anything anytime soon whether we agree or disagree with them and their approach. in other words, if it's not going to hurt them that much, the worst tariffs we throw at them, the worst moves we counter to deal with them -- >> well, that same report that you were, the same report that you're referencing, if you look that up online, there are a couple of other reports that talk about in the opposite way. neil: you're quite right. plenty of others say it's not good for anybody. i thought it was kind of wild, but you don't obviously agree with that part. >> you know, like i said, there are different studies out there, different reports that talk about that it does hurt the chinese, and then there's this

one that you referenced that says that it doesn't necessarily. i think it does. and i think that, again, moving forward anything that gets their behavior, you know, checks their behavior a little bit that we know that they're cheating, that reduces their trajectory of military spending, i think, is a good thing long term. make no mistake, we're basically in an economic war with them, and it's been going on for a while and, again, it's been acknowledged by democrats and republicans. the president is stepping up to do something about it. and again, he may do things we don't necessarily agree with with it, and he may fail in some respects. but i think for the long term, and when i talk to soybean farmers in my district, while they're concerned, they do see it as better for us in the long term. neil: congressman, thank you for taking the time. i do appreciate it. >> absolutely, sir. neil: all right. let's take a look at the corner of wall and broad where we're down about 81 points. again, the canadians are trying to the move fast so they can be part of this three-pay trade pac

with mexico -- three-way trade pac with mexico and the united states. as things stand right now, it's no longer nafta, it's just the united states-mexican trade agreement. that is not sitting well with the canadians, so they wanted to do something on that. to less divisive, controversial matters, the funeral of one john mccain. this is the scene right now in phoenix, arizona, waiting for the motorcade to arrive. this contains the casket of john mccain to the north phoenix baptist church after lying in state in the arizona state capitol. this is going to be a who's who event, as all of these events. we're going to hear from former vice president joe biden, also a good buddy of the former senator's, tommy espinosa, who said he disagreed with john mccain on ever single issue from immigration to business solutions to spark activity, but he said the guy was so compelling and so funny, how could you not be friends? they weren't only just friends, they were best buds.

and today they will say good-bye. more after this.

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♪ ♪ neil: saying good-bye to senator john mccain in arizona, phoenix, arizona, right now as his body makes it way to north phoenix baptist church. it is so unusual, i know i keep saying this, but this is something usually afforded former presidents who pass away or die in office. this is quite unusual when it involves what one of my guests was saying the best president we never had, john mccain, who crossed politics and boundaries. we'll be hearing from vice president joe biden, of course, tomorrow and on saturday, the eulogists will continue remembering him from president obama, president bush, a who's who on both sides of the

political table. but even in the passing of ted kennedy almost a decade ago, he was buried nine years ago yesterday, for example, nothing like this, nothing like this around the clock attention at various events. now, keep in mind kennedy's burial arrangements as a catholic, there was nothing at the national cathedral. it was a much smaller affair. the event and his final burial at arlington national cemetery was, in fact, closed to the press. but the fact of the matter is these type of events, the closest that i can think of in the post-world war ii period might have been after the assassination of then-senator bobby kennedy who was running for president at the time. that captivated the nation, shocking and surprising certainly what was going on in 1968. but a very different environment right now and something that, again, you see normally accorded to former presidents, but that's about it. not when it comes to john mccain, john tatum, of course, a good buddy of the former

senator. not at all surprised, bigtime financial powerhouse in his own right on what he makes of the fact that john mccain is getting grade a treatment. i would imagine you'd be saying, john, well deserved. >> absolutely, neil. i think anybody that had the privilege of being around senator mccain or getting to know senator mccain or spending time whether it was on the campaign trail or not, it was just a pure honor and privilege to be around him. and i think the country is so angry right now and so polarized, and i think what they're thirsting for or longing for is somebody like senator mccain. so somebody that reached across the aisle with russ feingold or, as you mentioned, senator ted kennedy. and there's going to be hundreds of senators and congress people at the services on saturday, and i'm looking forward to the

service, and i hope that coming out of it next week that, after labor day, they take a different approach to working together and just have a little bit of senator mccain, as lindsey graham said, in 'em and let it come out. neil: well, josh, hope always spring -- john, hope always springs eternal. i knew his humor and self-depracating way, and i'm told from a lot of close friends of his that as he was planning his own funeral services once he realized his brain tumor was worsening and the prospects weren't getting very good, he started meticulously planning every step of the way. and his staff would interject and say, all right, there's going to be -- your body will lie in state at the capitol here in phoenix, later on in washington in the u.s. capitol. he says, oh, they'll never approve that, and he was shocked each and ever step of the way that they did. there was no one blocking that. there was no one preventing that and no the one saying, no, no, no.

and i just think of that and the senator and, you know, his modest nature when he'd be shocked at the fact that all of this is going according to his own script. >> well, neil, i think it just speaks to, you know, his heroic nature, but he was very humble. neil: right. >> you know, he always used to tell me p he'd say, hey, johnny, it's always better to be part of something bigger than yourself. and that's how senator mccain always felt. and, yes, everything this week and certainly saturday is all about senator mccain, but, you know, it's -- he was just always about the greater cause, you know? country first or serving the country or just being a team player. even though he was the star of the campaign team. and he would have made a great

president. i think back to things that happened during the campaign, and, you know, he would have been an outstanding president. but it wasn't meant to be, and, you know, just how humble he was, he told the secret service guys to go home. he didn't even want secret service protection, you know? they forced it on him. and, you know, he just, he was a great man, and i hope that students and young people studying civics or, you know, political science or just history will take some time to, you know, google or look up senator mccain, his life, what he did for the country. just, it was an honor, as you said, being around him. and you're right, he had a great sense of humor. he was just a fun guy to be around. and he told a lot of good jokes, and he could dish it out pretty well. he had a great sense of humor,

and i'll tell ya a real quick story. one time a couple years ago he was in dallas for an event at our house, and we were talking, and we were reminiscing about the campaign. i was with him on december 4th, 2007. he was the sixth candidate after four republicans, none of the above and then john john mccain was number six. [laughter] and he was doing up to halls and it was just persistence and passion. he literally willed himself 30 days later to win in the new hampshire primary -- neil: i remember that well. >> we all know what happened after that. well, when i went to new hampshire to be there that night, january 7th, 2008, i had an unfortunate incident. i had bedbugs from the particular hotel where i was staying. so a couple years ago when senator mccain was in dallas, we were telling stories, and i was kind of -- i was telling the story about me having bedbugs from that night in new hampshire.

and, you know, he just kind of looked at me, and he said, bedbugs? johnny, how'd you get through that? that must have been a horrible experience for you. [laughter] and i'm sitting there thinking, john, you're an idiot, you know? you're sitting there talking to a guy that slept five and a half years as a prisoner of war, two years in solitary confinement, was beaten. i'm sure he had a lot of things crawling all over him at night when he laid down on that rock/dirt floor, and they were a lot worse than bedbugs. and i just, you know, everybody started cracking up, and i said, senator, you're right. it was terrible. [laughter] neil: i don't know if i could ever get through those bedbugs again. john, if you'll indulge me, another fella you know quite well, douglas are holtz-eakin, former mccain economic policy director. i'm reminded so many times of stories just like that that john told -- >> oh, yeah. neil: and i can remember his comeback in 2008 when he was

given up for gone many that contest and later on roared past far better financed candidates to get the nomination, of course, losing ultimately to barack obama. but maintaining his composure -- >> you had to bring that up, didn't you? neil: i did, right? [laughter] you know, one of the things i remember from that whole race to though was the fact that he was a big deal, he was the leading republican figure at the time -- when you run for president -- but he did joke some years later about what he missed from that. he said, you know, neil, i could order my charter flight and go anywhere i want to go anytime i wanted to go, and here i am booking on southwest and hoping i don't get the middle seat. [laughter] it was just the funny way he timed it just to say the middle seat. but, you know, that was part of his appeal and maybe why so many people are intrigued by this good-bye right now. what do you think? >> oh, yeah. well, i mean, first of all, i think john said it beautifully. he could really dish it out. i mean, and he never failed to.

i can remember being asked to address a delegation from arizona when they came in to d.c. by the arizona folks. so i'm up there at the podium, i'm telling them the outlook for the economy or some such thing, and in strolls john mccain unannounced, uninvited, i just wanted to tell you that guy cost me an election, don't listen to a word he says. [laughter] just classic mccain. or the second one i remember dearly is during the campaign season, my daughter was actually working for a caterer and ended up at a dinner where mccain was attending, and she went over to introduce herself, said, hi, i'm eleanor holtz-eakin, and he said, well, you know, i'm so sorry, but you can overcome a bad father. [laughter] that's who he was. >> yeah, it's true. >> and i think, i think people admired his humility, but i think the other reason you're seeing this outpouring today is at his core he was one of the most eyedistic people -- idealistic people i've ever known, and he believed deeply in the american dream.

and it was that vision that he never dropped, he never wavered from and that he shared not just with everyone in this country, but around the globe. and he became our greatest congressional statesman, and i think you're seeing that reflection today. he was a beacon of hope not just here, but everywhere. neil: you know, john, you also talked about -- the he was called a maverick for a reason. he wasn't always in lockstep with republicans, and he would confound democrats. he voted mostly republican, let's not give the impression that he was a registered democrat here, but on key issues, i able right after the financial meltdown he was quite acerbic talking about these banks and institutions that collateralized, you know are, these mortgage-backed obligations and sold them, and they knew they were risky bets for their investors, to say nothing of what they were doing to gin up the system. once that meltdown happened he calculated, i think, doug, you said he kind of knew the score and where the campaign was going. but he was not necessarily in

the hip pocket of big business or big banks. he would scold them, in fact, he would eviscerate them and capitalism -- i don't want to misquote him here, john, you know probably better than i, capitalism has its responsibilities as well. and not to be a jerk is one of them. [laughter] what did you make of that? >> neil, that's a great, you know, that's a classic senator mccain phrase, you know? he was like, johnny, don't be a jerk. [laughter] that guy's a jerk. and you're right, you know? i mean, senator mccain was, he was very principled, and he was about core principles. he had a moral compass as strong or stronger than probably any of our leaders, our political leaders. and he would do what he felt was truly the best thing, you know, for the, for certainly arizona but really for the country overall. and i'll never forget, you know,

doug probably remembers this. this was the one, you know, we had a bump coming out of the convention. i mean, governor palin was a big hit the night of the convention, and we were up. and you're right, that fateful day when the financial crisis melted down, but i'll tell you, the first time i met donald trump was ten years ago going to an event for senator mccain. and my wife and i rode up in the elevator with donald trump. and in that room was every new york banker you could imagine, and they were supporting senator mccain for president. but not one of those bankers stepped up and foreshadowed what was coming, and they cheerily knew what was coming -- clearly knew what was coming. neil: that's interesting. >> i blame the loss of the campaign on every single one of those bankers, and they knew who they are, that were sitting in that fundraising dinner, you know, 30 days or so before the election. and that's why senator mccain, you know, took the hit.

but he was absolutely right, i mean, he had a moral compass, and he had a vision, as doug said. he was our best cheer leader -- neil: and he didn't parrot the republican views. in fact, he rejected the first bush tax cut, doug, he was not a fan of that. >> yes, he voted against it. neil: yeah. and his reasoning was? >> he was very concerned and and was always concerned about the outlook for the government's finances, and he saw no evidence that they were going to control the spending, and he thought it was tilted too much toward or the affluent. he was deeply interested in the average american. that was his litmus test for whether something was a good idea -- neil: and that isn't following republican orthodoxy, and he was big on military spending, he didn't want to bankrupt the government to do it. there it always seemed to be this conundrum, talk about somebody that could do math, he was all for that, that's where

the priority should be -- >> i'm telling you, neil -- >> -- not at the expense of our government. >> it was maddening on the campaign because, you know, it's a campaign. these promises are funny money. then-candidate barack obama offered $10 billion every time he got off the plane. we couldn't offer anyone a dime. he was the cheapest human being i've ever met -- [laughter] but, man, it was in there. that was just who he was. neil: i do want to thank both of you. you're very, very good friends, classy americans, and this country has responded to not only what you have done, but what you meant to john and to this country. gentlemen, thank you. what you are watching right now is this ceremony, and that is what cindy mccain wanted to call a ceremony honoring her husband's life. it's taking place at the north phoenix baptist the church, it will include democrats and republicans. it looks like 24 current

senators, u.s. senators, others from from arizona all expected to say good-bye to the man they called the maverick in recognition of his impact on the world, something you do not see afforded sometimes even former presidents. but this one, john mccain, today. . [background noises]

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>> you may be seated. on behalf of the mccain family thank you all so much for being here this morning. as we remember and celebrate the life of senator john mccain. a true american hero, a man loved by this church, a man loved by this nation and this city. a man of courage, a man of faith, and a man who dearly loved his family. as we celebrate and get into the service i want to offer you a word of scripture for the word of god that will bring us comfort. comes from the book of first these -- thessalonians.

the word of god says this, brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death so you do not grief like the rest of mankind who have no hope. for we believe that jesus died and he rose again. so we believe that god will bring with jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. but a word of promised hope and comfort from the word of god. let's pray together. father in heaven, the creator and maker of all things, there is nothing new under the sun for you, father. you know alltics -- things before they happen. this morning, lord, we pray for the friends and family of senator mccain and we will grieve, we will mourn, father, but we will do so with a different hope because of the

faith he has placed in jesus christ. that we can with confidence grieve with the hope to know that this very moment he is spending eternity with jesus christ, his lord and savior. what a comfort. that is in jesus name we pray, amen. ♪ amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like

me ♪ ♪ i once was lost but now am found, was blind but now i see ♪ ♪ twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved ♪

♪ how precious did that grace appear the hour i first believed ♪ ♪ when have been there 10,000 years bright shining as the sun ♪ ♪ we've known and days to sing god's praise then when we first

begun ♪ >> chapter 3, versus -- verses 1

through 2. through everything there is a season, a time to every purpose under the heavens, a time to be born, and a time to die. a time to plant and a time to pluck out the -- >> i was 28 years old, i had only been a public defender, a few years out of law school, and for some reason john mccain asked me to be his chief of staff when he got elected. so on my first day at 7:00 a.m. john mccain picked me up at my

house. i went to the car, i said, well, do you want me to drive? no, i'm going to drive. so i want me to sit in the back seat? i'm no expert on this, but i thought the staff drove. no, get in the car, boy, get in the car. for the next half hour, we just talked about the football games the day before and, whatever is in the news and politics and told a few jokes and, it was, at the same time just a really a lot of fun and also quite terrifying because of his ridiculously bad driving. so when he get excited he drove like this anyway. then he would get excited and just start drifting off, hello, over there. [laughter]. so we finally got where we were going, oh, hey, by the way, what are we doing? he goes, oh, i hired the whole staff. i want you to meet them. okay. that's good.

[laughter]. so we met the staff and, we went back to the car. we got in the car, all the staff came out, they were all waving and things. they seem to be very nice. he said, oh, you will have to fire half of them. [laughter] what are you talking about? he just sped off. the staff was waving. and about one minute later, we went right back by because he had gone the wrong way of course. [laughter]. waved again. and i just say that two hours kind of epitomized the next 35 years for i don't know mccain. at once a little bit harrowing, a little wild, a little crazy but a lot of fun. the greatest honor of my life. i have people ask me all the time, did you every know him in the early years? did you have a feeling you had someone so special there?

my answer is yes, absolutely, no question about it. i tell you the first time. it was a december, over in my hometown of pace is a, arizona. we were rot at thatry -- rotary club. it was all men. these were tough guys, kind of cynical about things and here is this new guy in town. one of them asked him, since it was december, they asked him about what christmas in prison? he told them a couple stories. he told them about one night when he was being interrogated for quite a long time and it didn't go too well for his captors. they were up set with him. they tied him up. they tied the ropes tight. it was very painful. left him there for the night. some guard came in who he did not know, never spoken to, and, at 10:00 p.m. the guard walked

in, unloosened the ropes. at about 4:00 a.m. the guard came back tightened him up again, so he wouldn't get in trouble. john didn't know why that happened, but he found out a little clue a couple weeks later right before christmas when he was standing in the dirt yard and that guard walked up next to him. the guard didn't say a word but with his sandal, he drew a cross in the dirt. and he looked at it for a minute. and then the guard rubbed it out. and went on his way. and, it was quiet in that room when john told that. and then he said, you know, on christmas eve we sell -- celebrated, we got together under this bare light bulb, and we sang christmas carols and we

quoted bible verses that we could remember, and we told the gospel story to each other. and i guess just that image of this band of brothers together in this god forsake enplace, singing to each other, and there at the front, our guy, john mccain, beaten up but not down, singing his favorite christmas carol, silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright, round yon mother and child holy infant so tender and mild. the words seemed so far away of that place. but they leaned on the faith of their fathers, their faith in each other, their faith in their

country and their faith in god. i looked out into that audience there in my hometown and those were some of my peers and the peers of my parents. those are tough, independent guys. they're ranchers and farmers. there are some cowboys, businessmen, entrepreneurs and they were crying. because they saw in john mccain a little bit of what they hoped to see in themselves. they saw in john mccain the embodiment of values they hoped to see in their country. over the next few months and years john got to know this place and he fell in love with arizona. he loved the people, our diversity, our native-american community, our hispanic culture, and he loved the place, in

particular the grand canyon, the colorado river. we floated down that twice together. he kept going back and back, he loved it. he hiked the canyon with yak not that long ago, rim to rim. he loved sedona, he loved this place if i don't know mccain fell in love with arizona, arizona fell in love with john mccain. we ran a lot of races here, a lot of elections. he never lost. he never really very close. arizona loved him. we had one little blip one time. when he ran for the senate the first time. he called me on the phone, well, boy, i think i might have screwed up. i said, why in? i was talking to these students at u of a, how come you're only politician that comes down here. they only go to the retirement

places. well, it is because you guys don't vote, okay? [laughter] those other dudes vote 100% you know? you want people to come down here, you need to vote like they vote out at seizure world. [laughter]. i said, i didn't say that, did you? because there is this big retirement community called leisure world in the valley. they weren't real happy with their new nickname out there. [laughter] so john said, like he always does, okay, i screwed up. let's go, we have to go out there. we. [laughter] and so we we went out, we drove, there was 90-year-old guy in a golf cart out there and he was giving us the finger. [laughter]. little did we know, we both said

that's great. we loved that. john was like, hey good to see you. thank you, thank you. so he went in, stood up, said, sorry about that. went to work and guess what, i think he won that about 85-15 in that election in that precinct. so we're going to miss some things about him here in our state. his leadership here on these important issues. i'm going to miss his sense of humor. will miss his love of sports. he loved the teams, all of our teams, i mean by love them, i mean love them, like non-stop, okay? he loved you guys, fits. gonzo, shane. not a coincidence. he didn't become friends with just the best players, but with the best people and he loved you guys. i think, we also worry here in

arizona about a bigger picture and i hope that what he stood for will maybe get renewed look in our country. that is what he would want. he would want us, okay, we recognize him now. now let's get to work. i'm sure the vice president will talk about john and bipartisanship, but he believed so much that this, in the end when it is all said and done, this republican and democrat thing is not that important, is it? we're all americans. we have to get to the point where we can work together as americans. his support of the military, i hope you members of congress will keep that strong. it was so important that he had their backs. and one other thing, john mccain believed in our constitution, and he stood up for it. he fought for it every step of the way. he would not stand by as people tried to trample the constitution or the bill of rights, including the first

amendment. and you know what? he believed in the declaration of independence. when we proclaimed to the world that every single human being is important, every single human being is precious, every single person in this world has the right to live free, not because the government says so, but because god gave us that right. so john mccain his entire life stood by the freedom fighters across the world. he was there. he was there figuratively and literally, by their side wherever they were acknowledging their right to live free. it's, it's a long and winding road that took him from that dirt yard in hanoi to the dirt back roads of hidden valley but through it all he was resolute. he was courageous every step of

the way. and in arizona, he was our hero. i think you can see from this outpouring of support and love, for john mccain, that he was america's hero. senator john mccain from arizona, he served his country with honor. he fought the good fight. he finished the race. he kept the faith. now, my friend, we can finish the song, sleep in heavenly

peace. sleep in heavenly peace. amen. [applause] >> well i, i had the great opportunity of meeting congressman john mccain in washington. he was back there and i was visiting, he said you need to meet this congressman, this young maverick, full of energy. i said, oh, yeah? he says, besides that he will become president of the united states one of these days, you need to meet him. i said, okay. we met in virginia at, my

apologies. it was rough getting up here. alexandria. cindy, ca, myself, and we had dinner in this nice little restaurant. and we chatted for a while, with i don't know mccain you just bond. there is something about his energy level, it goes up. start talking. starts asking about my background. not knowing him that well, i asked him about his. before we knew it we felt comfortable going back and forth with each other. so i got up enough nerve to ask him. i said, congressman, what was it that allowed you to be a prisoner of war camp? what kept you together? and i said, well, you know, most people ask me how they treated me. obviously they treated me pretty bad. he goes, bud, one is my faith in

god, my love for my family, and my faith in my country. he said those things kept me, kept me together. so we kept talking that evening and as i thought about that, at that discussion, and for this, this talk, i wanted to reflect with you a reading from corinthians 13, which i think captures, captures senator john mccain. corinthians 13. i should give away to the poor all that i possess, and even give up my body to be burned, if i am without love, it will do me no good whatever. when you think about an rid like

senator mccain who suffered, who was in prison, was injured, and yet with all at that, was able to keep his faith together, his focus on his country, focus on his family i believe that that period of time, those five years is where god molded this fantastic hero. for god took an opportunity to humble this young man who came from a military family. god used those minutes, those hours, those days, those years, to put together a human being that we'll be talking about the senator for generations. john mccain was a person who loved with his energy, who loved

all of us. who loved his country. that evening while we were having dinner, he said, when we get back to phoenix, we need to get together to have dinner and of course back then i was pretty cocky. so i said, well, congressman, i know a number of congressman and i know a couple of senators, well, we always hear that. no, when you get back, give me a date, and i'll be there. i said, i will invite you to my house. us mexican-americans love to cook and we love to have folks at our homes, if you're really going to be a friend. and he chuckled. so a couple months later when i got back home, we called, set up a dinner at the house, and of course i was preparing tortillas and all the stuff you know about and my homemade salsa.

i get a call from his office. they say he is running late. so i asked, what's the problem? well it is his birthday. he wanted to spend a little bit of time with his family. sorry, cindy. and of course i panic, and say, you know if he wantss to cancel, i understand, please. he said no, he made it very clear to us he is going to your house tonight to have dinner. so i scrambled, got amiri be a mariachi group. i figure i have to do something really good. mexican foot is not going to get me there. luckily they got there ten minutes before he arrived. when cindy and the congressman then walk into my house, the kitchen, mariachi start playing. they sing the traditional mexican birthday song for, in

our culture and of course john and cindy lit up. it was a great evening and we enjoyed, enjoyed the night. that is senator john mccain. he keeps his word. that's the senator that we have had all these years that sometimes we beat up on. that's the senator that i hope people can embrace what he stood for for our country and yes, he was a maverick. and his first senatorial campaign i get a call, and it is him on the phone, i'm with father tony, a dear friend of mine, they say he is, you got the congressman on the phone. i don't know how he tracked me down but we're in a restaurant. so i get the phone and he says, tony, i'm running for the u.s. senate. blah, blah. you know john, he was going

100 miles an hour. i'm going like, okay. he said, i want you to co-chair my campaign. i said well, john, you know i'm a democrat. [laughter]. i'm not sure that is going to help you with your republican campaign. i don't care. you're my friend. i want you to could chair it. let me sleep on it. no, no. you give me an answer right now, yes or no. of course i said yes. once again senator john mccain. goes over to the other side. don't forget, i was like i was like an activist. i was not in the most conservative organization in the country. we go back and forth, with john, you it were a friend or, at the end of the day, we could go a

couple of years without seeing each other but when we did, it was like old home week. he was warm, his energy. he was going 100 mile-an-hour but yet he made time to be with you. then the second time, we get a call, rita and i to come to las vegas. this is of course when he is in his presidential campaign. we end up in las vegas with his two right hand folks that have always run his campaigns, which i have the greatest respects for. so we do a quick chitchat. then john says, i want you to speak on my behalf at the republican convention. [laughter]. i said, senator, want to remind you i'm a democrat. [laughter] eh, i don't care. i want you there. you're my friend.

i want you there. i said, yes, i'll be there. he said, well, he says, with a big smile on his face, watch out when you start your car. [laughter]. i said, okay, senator. i'll do that. so, john kind of put me out on the national scene and, and i must confess he did a number of things that i could stand here all day and share with you different stories. i will tell you that that one time that we met is with meghan on the tv program, i don't even remember the name of the tv program, meghan, meghan is on tv now. blah, blah. i go, okay. do you see her? no, senator. i don't want watch tv that much.

well, you start watching her. okay. [laughter]. so that was our great senator. as we were you can walking out he asked my wife, i have a question for you. if i put a woman on our ticket, as vice president, what do you think about that? well my wife isn't the type that holds back. she is a mexican from mexico city and they have a tendency just telling you how it is and of course the senator liked that. she turns, she says, well, i don't really care if it's a man or a woman. if something happens to you, i want to make sure the person can run the country. john, looked at her, says, okay. the two guys, walked out. needless to say we learned later who he had selected. but again, regardless, there was the senator again, taking the risk of putting forth a woman for vice president of this great

country of ours. so it is no surprise, it is no surprise also that he got together with kennedy to push for immigration reform. because when he talked about immigration, it was not so much the politics of it, he would say, you know what? i can't believe these families that come from another country, from mexico, from central america to work, cutting our grass, feeding us, bringing in the labor force that we need, and now we turn on them? that really struck at the heart of what he thought our great country was about. i believe it cost him a presidential campaign. so to me it is very dear what the senator is about. to me john really did reflect our country and in its true form. my father is a marine, passed away in february.

once a marine, always a marine he would say. got wounded in guam. got a purple heart. when he talked about john mccain he said, he understands us. he understands us. and i must confess he did understand us. he understood all of us, whether it was white, black, brown, asian. to him it didn't make any difference. what he knew is that we all make america great. we all america great. so i hope that in his legacy, the senators, governors, mayors, city council members, elected officials, embrace the thought of love because john reflected love, and love of a strong man

and that is nowadays hard to come by. so his legacy will go out for generations because people will talk about senator john mccain as one of the greatest heroes in our lifetime. and with that if you permit me, read timothy 2. as for me my life is already being poured away as a libation and the time has come for me to depart. i have fought the good fight to the end. i have run the race to the finish. i have kept the faith. my dear friend, vayaacon, dios.

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[applause] >> i fell in love with my country when i was a prisoner in someone else. senator mccain spoke heartfelt words as he accepted republican nomination for president in 2018. they were the word of an authentic american hero. we all know how the story goes. a fiery navy pilot, shot down by

the north vietnamese over a lake near hanoi. as his plane went out of control, he bailed out just in time to plunge into the lake below. that pilot, a young john mccain, was taken hostage as a prisoner of war, where he spent more than five 1/2 years, almost 2000 days, he would endure countless beatings, torture, solitary confinement, mental and emotional anguish, that none of us will ever have to endure. after getting to know senator mccain i felt compelled to visit vietnam. i wanted to see the places where the will of john mccain was tested and forged. i saw the lake. i walked the steps. i sat in the cell. and the ordeal that my friend survived became all the more real. many people might wonder what a young african-american kid from minnesota and a highly decorated

vietnam war hero turned united states support might have in common? i thought of a few. i'm black. he was white. [laughter] i'm young. he wasn't so young. [laughter] he lived with physical limitations brought on by war. i'm a professional athlete. he ran for president. i run out of bounds. [laughter]. he was the epitome of toughness and i do everything i can to avoid contact. [laughter] i have flowing locks. and well, he didn't. [laughter] how does this unlikely pair become friends? i asked myself this same question. but do you know what the answer is? that is just who he is. over the several years i had the privilege spending time with senator mccain sometimes it was just a visit to our

practices. other times it was him texting saying, you need to pick it up this sunday. [laughter]. i'm thankful that through these moments the opportunity that we had to share our lives and more importantly our stories, while from very different worlds we develop ad meaningful friendship. this highlights a very rare and very special qualities of senator mccain that i came to deeply admire. he didn't judge individuals based on the color of their skin, their gender, their backgrounds, their political affiliations or their bank accounts. he evaluated them on the merits of their character and the content of their hearts. he judged them on the work at the put in and the principles they lived by. it was this approach to humanity that made senator john mccainrespected by countless people around the world, including me. his accomplishments were many.

u.s. senator, presidential candidate, statesman, warrior, and hero. his work ethic, tireless. his fight? legendary. but what made senator mccainspecial was that he cared about the substance of my heart, more so than where i came from. while some might find our friendship out of the ordinary it was a perfect example of what made him an iconic figure of american politics and service to fellow man. he celebrated differences. he embraced humanity. championed what was true and just. and saw people for who they were. yes, ours was an unlikely friendship but it is one that i will always cherish. i have had the honor of attending several of the sedona forums hosted by senator mccain and his remarkable wife cindy. there were world leaders in politics, business, science, and education to discuss the most

pressing matters of our time. issues like health care, global warming, technology, and human trafficking. these leaders gathered to find real solutions and they gathered because senator mccain asked them to be there. his devotion to making arizona the united states and the whole orlando a better place for everyone inspired countless leaders like those at the sedona forums. i'm confident his legacy of devotion and to the common good will continue to inspire people around the world long after today. a few years ago he was kind enough to take me on a personal tour of the u.s. senate. it was obvious that senator mccain was highly regarded. he believed to be right and was good regardless of which political side of the aisle his opinion fell on. i saw how respected he was, how much admiration he commanded from people across the political spectrum. but that admiration wasn't

surprising because senator mccain was known as a man of integrity an conviction, a man who at times just as he sacrificed himself for his fellow p.o.w.s in vietnam, willing to sacrifice his own political gains willing to accomplish what he believed was best for all. as a result of at that type of sacrifice he may have lost the support of a political ally here and there, but he gained the respect and admiration of an entire nation. in closing i would like to honor the love i saw in senator mccain. he loved the people of arizona, serving them passionately and diligently for decades. he took that same love to washington and boldly advocated for freedoms and liberties he had grown to love as a young navy pilot but the love i awe most was the love he had for his wife cindy and his children. i heard him speak about them often. the love always came pouring

through from every word. senator mccain, it has been a true honor to call you friend. your toughness, bravery, inspired us. your sacrifice enriched our lives. your devotion to the people of arizona, our nation, and your convictions won our admiration. your love set an example for all of us to follow. jackie robinson once said, a life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. senator mccain, we will miss the blessings of being in your presence but we will never forget the impact you had on the world, more importantly, on each of the lives that you touched. we are all better for having known you. rest in peace, my friend. [applause]

>> my name is joe biden. [laughter]. i'm a democrat. [laughter] and i loved john mccain. i have had the dubious honor over the years of giving some eulogyies for fine women and men that i have admired. this one's hard. the three men who have spoken before me i think captured john, different aspects of john in a way only someone close to him could understand but the way i

look at it, the way i thought about it, was that, i always thought of i don't know as a brother. we had a hell of a lot of family fights. [laughter] we go back a long way. i was a young united states senator. i got elected when i was 29. i had dubious distinction being put on the foreign relations committee which the next youngest person was 14 years older than me. and, i spent a lot of time traveling the world because i was assigned responsibility of my colleagues in the senate know, i was chair of the european affairs subcommittee. so i spent a lot of time on nato and then the soviet union.

and along came a guy couple years later, a guy i knew of, admired from afar, your husband, who had been a prisoner of war, who had endured enormous, enormous pain and suffering, and demonstrated the code, the, mc cain code. people don't think much about it today, imagine having already known the pain you were likely tone during and being offered the opportunity to go home, and saying no. as his son can tell you, navy, last one in, last one out. so i knew of john. and john became navy liaison

officer in the united states senate. there is an office then, used to be on the basement floor of members of the military who are assigned to senators when they travel abroad, to meet with heads of state or other foreign dignitaryies and john had been recently released from the hanoi hilton, a genuine hero and he became the naval liaison. for some reason we hit it off from the beginning. we were both full of dreams, and ambitions and an overwhelming desire to make the time we had there worthwhile, to try to do the right thing. to think about how we could make things better for the country we loved so much. and, john and i ended up traveling every time i went

anywhere, i took john with me or john took me with him and we were in china, japan, russia, germany, france, england, turkey, all over the world, tens of thousands of miles. and we would sit on that plane and late in the night, when everyone else was asleep and just talk. getting to know one another. we talked about family. we talked about politics. we talked about international relations. we talked about promise. the promise of america. because we both cockeyed optimists and really believe there is not a single thing beyond the capacity of this country. i mean for real. not a single thing. and when you get to know another woman or man, you get to know their hopes and their fears, get

to know their family before you meet them, get to know about everything, we talked about everything except captivity and loss of my family just occurred. my wife and daughter. only two things we didn't talk about. but i found that it wasn't too long into john's duties that jill and i got married. will is with me here today. five years, i had been a single dad. and, and no man deserves one great love, let alone two. and i met jill, who changed my life. and she fell in love with him and we her. he would always call her, as lindsey would say, called her jillly. and as a matter of fact, when they would get bored being with me on these trips, i remember

going to see greece, why don't i take jill to dinner. i later learn they're down on a, in a cafe, on the, at the port and he has her dancing on top of a cement table drinking uzo. [laughter]. not a joke. jilly. right, jilly? so, but, we got to know each other well and he loved my son beau and my son hunt. as a young man came up to my house, come up to wilmington. out of this grew a great friendship that transcended whatever political differences we had or later developed because above all, above all, we understood the same thing. all politics is personal. it is all about trust.

i trusted john with my life and i would, and i think he would trust me with his. we both knew then from our different experiences that, as i our life progressed we learned even more, that there are times when life can be so cruel. pain so blinding. it is hard to see anything else. the disease that took john's life, took our mutual friends, teddy's life, the exact same disease nine years ago, couple days ago, and three years ago, it took my beautiful son beau's life. it is brutal. it is relentless. it is unforgiving. it takes so much from those we love and from the families who love them, that in order to survive, that we have to remember how they lived.

not how they died. i carry with me an image of beau iting out in the little lake we live on, starting the motor on the boat, smiling and waving. not the last days. i'm sure vicki kennedy has her own image, seeing teddy look alive on the sailboat out on the cape. and for the family, for the family, you all find your own images. whether it is remembered of a smile or his laugh or his touch on the shoulder, just running his hand down your cheek. or just feeling like someone looking and turn, see him smiling at you. just looking at you.

or when you saw the sheer joy that crossed his face the moment he knew he would be to take up the stage on the senate floor and start a fight. [laughter] god, he loved it. so cindy, the kids doug, andy, cindy meghan, jack, jimmy, bridget. i know she is is not here but to mrs. mccain, we know how difficult it is to bury a child, mrs. mccain. my heart goes out to you. and i know right now the pain you're feeling is so sharp, so hollowing and john's absence is all consuming for you right now. it is like being sucked into a black hole inside of your chest and it's frightening but i know something else unfortunately

from experience. that there is nothing anyone can say or do to ease the pain right now. but i pray, i pray you take some comfort, knowing because you shared john with all of us your whole life, the world now shares with you the ache of john's death. look around this magnificent church. look what you saw coming at the state capitol yesterday. it is hard to stand there but part of it, part of it was, at least it was for me with beau, standing in the state capitol, you knew it was genuine. it was deep. he touched so many lives. and i've gotten calls not just

because people knew we were friends. not just from people around the country, but leaders around the world calling me. meghan, i'm getting all these sympathy letters. i mean hundreds of them, and tweets. character is destiny. john had character. while others will miss his leadership and his passion, even his stubbornness, you're going to miss that hand on your shoulder, family you're going to miss the man. faithful man as he was. who you would knew would

literally figuratively get his life for you. and for that there is no bomb of time. time and your memories of a life lived well, and i make you a promise. i promise you, the time will come, because what's going to happen is six months will go by and everybody's going to think well, it's passed but you're going to ride by that field or smell that fragrance or see that flashing image, you're going to feel like you did the day you got the news. but you know you're going to make it when the image of your dad, your husband, your friend,

crosses your mind and a smile comes to your lip before a tear to your eye. that's when you know and i promise you, i give you my word, i promise you, this i know, that day will come. that day will come. you know, i'm sure my former colleagues and all who worked with john, i'm sure there's people who have said to you not only now, but the last ten years, explain this guy to me. right? explain this guy to me. because if they looked at him, in one sense they admired him, but in one sense, in a way things have changed so much in america, they look at him as if john came from another age. he lived by a different code, an

ancient, antiquated code where honor, courage, character, integrity, duty, it was obvious that's how john lived his life. the truth is, john's code was ageless. is ageless. when you talked earlier, you talked about values. it wasn't about politics with john. he could disagree on substance, but the underlying values that touched everything john did, everything he was. he could come to a different conclusion, but he would part company with you if you lacked the basic values of decency, respe respect.