funereal, but he came to love it. >> this is such a sacred space, george, and there are so many veterans gathered here this morning to pay tribute to john mccain. more than 58,000 names on that wall. this wall meant so much to john mccain. he didn't at first like this wall. he thought it was too funereal. it didn't celebrate those who had given their lives for our country, but he came around in the same way so many people have when you go down there and you see those veterans, look at two veterans right there, jim mattis, john kelly, who have both served their country and, of course, two of john mccain's sons, as well, still serving. one veteran down there told me this is like burying a member of

our own family. for john mccain, he said, my happiness since he's been released as a pao has not let me forget my friends who the country we lived so dearly, the memory of them for what they bore for honor and country causes me to look in every perspective conflict for the shadow of vietnam. >> he never forgot them. the entire mccain family there with cindy mccain. >> a moment of silence in honor of those whose named are on the wall.

there will now be a moment of silence.

mccain family now heading back to the motorcade for that trip to the national cathedral. terry moran, struck again this morning how every moment, every image, ef ceremony has been chosen for a purpose. >> to send a message as you said and this message about the vietnam war which tore our country apart. and part of the mission of john mccain as a politician was to bind up the nation's wounds after that war and he found common cause typically across the aisle with john kerry, who was very much on the other tia

came back from avail buan maigreed it was try to heal the country and that was part of his dedication to this memorial as martha said? we saw this, cokie roberts, right up until the final moments of his life. >> he, of course, was seared in vietnam and then used that searing to make it a dedication to serve. as he said, i learned to love my country in the prisoner of war camp in another country, but this memorial is really has had the effect of binding wounds. people come to it. it's the most visited memorial in washington. you see the veterans and their families come and the families will touch the fames because everybody who was killed in vietnam's name is etched into that stone and they'll just come along and put their hands on the the led one andmoving but it i having the effect, i think, of making people feel this is a

sacred place where the wounds are healed. >> you talk about that searing experience, prisoner of war in vietnam, 5 1/2 years in prison. a tenure he chose to extend himself. we want to hear now from john mccain himself talking about that, an interview from the prison. >> i was on a flight over the city of hanoi and i was bombing and i was hit by either a missile or anti-aircraft fire. i'm not sure which and the plane continued straight down and i ejected. >> i came down in a lake near the center of the city of hanoi. as i came to the surface, the vietnamese, a group of them, came out and pulled me in and then they threw me in the back of a truck and took me to the prison that beknow of as the hanoihilton. i a

th tk my tor in english said it's too late then i thought perhaps i was going to die. my father saved my life, because some hours after that the door burst open and the interrogator came in and said your father is a big admiral and we're going to take you to the hospital so he really did. they had found out from our wire services. >> i would just like to tell my wife that i will get well. i love her and i hope to see her soon. and i appreciate it if you'd tell her that. that's all i have. >> in the background the

interrogator is saying tell them you want the war to stop and that's why you hear me say, that's all i have to say and then the interrogator then said tell them that it's an evil war and you want the war to stop and the frenchman turned and said, i think he said enough. what bothered me most about it was that i knew that if i had accepted the release then they would go to other prisoners and say, see, your country doesn't care about you, they only care about the admiral's sons and i knew that that's what i would do and i knew i couldn't do that to my fellow prisoners. >> a choice i think very few can imagine making. one he made instinctively with ease. he never fully recovered physically from those 5 1/2 years in prison. couldn't lift his arms above his head to comb his own hair. but we saw over the last 3 1/2 decades how much he did recover

emotionally, spiritually and what he took from the experience and bring in david muir as well, "world news" anchor. you had a chance to go back to the hanoi hilton with john mccain. >> i went back in april, george, to take a look at what's left of that prison, what's left still standing and you know john mccain said in those interviews as we pored back through them it was difficult for him to watch them of a young man, press nir of war being interrogated. interviewed and they knew who they had and, of course, that offer that came eight months in that we would send you home, it would be a pr coup for the vietnamese and he rejected it. you're looking at images now of the other pilots from all over the united states who had been held as prisoners of war there. the cells that remain are eerie, dark, pouring the day i was there. the rain coming in. the concrete walls and the beds and you knew those were the walls that they would tap on in code to one another and in

particular after john mccain refused to go home they put him in solitary confinement for at least 2 years before he was allowed to imentsdz great winte other prisoners again. one of the things i was struck by, all of the international visitors to what's left of the hanoi hilton they were lined up. they knew the story of this american patriot, this american hero, john mccain, his flight suit is still on display. so is his paracuhute and they hd photographs of several americans. in one they're holding hand, heads down in prayer and the caption beneath said the americans enjoying a christmas meal and another one shows them opening letters from families back home and you know the propaganda, the vietnamese trying to tell a story all these years later of how well the prisoners were treated. we know the reality for john mccain and the prisoners there was much different. that in choosing to stay behind

he stay for, you know, more than five years there, beaten again after that decision that refusal to go home, and he said he did not want to break military code, that the first prisoner held is the first to be released and he said so many times over the year, george, as you know that he steadfastly rejected the label of hero, that his heroes are the names on the vietnam memorial that we're looking at right there. my own father is a vietnam vet and he like so many that we have met in our reporting through the years often says very little about his experience through the war and john mccain rejecting that label and pointed to the names instead on that memorial, i think, sends a message to so many veterans that we met who served in vietnam and believe their service perhaps wasn't recognized for many, many years, but in visiting that wall, john mccain sent a message that they are the heroes and we cannot forget all of the young soldiers who put their lives on the line to serve, no matter how

americans felt about it. >> he would go back to vietnam and every war zone again and again and again to pay respects to those who served, those who have served. may have rejected the label hero. not one rejected for him. jon karl at the national cathedral right now. jon, you had the chance to visit the hanoi hilton, something that john mccain himself recognized. >> mccain said that it was in captivity as a p.o.w. in vietnam that he came to love america and, george, if you think back to him -- to getting shot down, he broke his left arm, he broke his right arm. he broke his knee, he was knocked unconscious and he landed in the middle of the lake in a residential area right in the middle of hanoi. and came to, had to take off his parachute with his teeth. was dragged out of that lake,

was beaten, taken prisoner and repeatedly tortured and the irony that he often pointed out was that they tortured him and mistreated him and his fellow p.o.w.s to try to get them to talk about how well they were treated. to play that propaganda role. when i went back to visit i was struck by how many of -- by the propaganda still on the walls but about how many of the vietnamese know mccain's story, revere him. he may be the most famous american in vietnam. they know what happened to him. i got -- after i left the hanoi hilton, i jumped in a taxi and asked to be taken to the place where he was shot down and the cab driver recited for me exactly the date that he was shot down, where it was, brought me to that point, i later

tweeted a little video of the cab driver telling me the date and location and details about mccain and mccain there in arizona saw my tweet and answered it saying, pointing out that the cab driver had the date off by one month. but he called it a wonderful trip down memory lane. that was the thing about mccain, this sacred experience. had an ability to -- he had a sense of humor about the darkest moments of his life. >> one of his hallmarks, his sense of humor. it was always a part of his campaign. want to play a moment from his town hall meeting in his second presidential campaign. new hampshire in august 2007. his encounter with a gold star mom.

>> good evening. during the war in vietnam, i wore a braceletlet in support of a soldier that was fighting. today, unfortunately, i wear a black bracelet in memory of my son who lost his life in baghdad. i wonder if you would wear this so you could remember their mission and your mission in support of them. >> i would be honored. >> thank you, sir. >> and grateful. >> thank you. i appreciate it. [ applause ] >> may i ask how old matthew was? 22. thank you for his service. yes, ma'am, i will wear this. thank you. >> covered that campaign. the woman's name, lynn savage.

>> that was a promise kept. >> and senator mccain, that was an emotional moment for him. he talked about it, score, maybe hundreds of times on the campaign in 2008 and his senatorial campaigns later about that meeting with lynn savage, her son's name was matthew stanley. he was a specialist. he was killed by a roadside bomb in iraq just before christmas in 2006 and senator mccain committed that he would wear that bracelet, that black cobalt bracelet the rest of his life. the day after he died, cindy mccain called mrs. savage to tell her that he had worn that every day right up the day he passed away but not just that, she said that on the anniversary, each year, december 16th, senator mccain would call her just to check in and see how she's doing. i asked how she remembers john mccain now. she says i remember him as a good man and an honest man. he could have put that bracelet in his pocket but he kept his

word. he wore it for the rest of his life just as he said he would. >> martha raddatz, the vietnam memorial, a promise he kept, a bond he reinforced. with all those who serve. >> he certainly did, and right after cindy mccain laid that wreath and walked back to the motorcade people here burst into applause. they're now down by the memorial looking at that wreath knowing how meaningful that s you know, george, hearing these stories about john mccain and the hanoi hilton, i visited there as well. you think about how much he missed back here in america during those years. the assassination of robert ken dierks the assassination of martin luther king. the moon landing and of course a lot of those anti-war protests, he said of those anti-war protesters after he got back, the freedom they were exercising was what i was fighting for.

and a lot of those veterans down here today will tell you the same thing. they have followed in john mccain's footsteps in so many ways, the man he was who they admire, how much he dedicated to this country, how much he dedicated to them. and when you walk along this wall, john mccain did that, many, many times, imagine the power of this wall for him. to see those veterans, to see others who have fought for this country and to see the names of those who did not make it back for john mccain, this truly was a sacred space. >> let's hear john mccain describe it. >> i want to aske set oek. sometimes once every couple of weeks. i live not far away. not only do i enjoy the wall, but i enjoy shaking hands with

the veterans who were there. it's really incredibly emotional experience and again what it tells me, a lot of these young men died because of an inadequate or corrupt leadership. we have got to have leaders who will lead and will be able to give them a path to victory so that we will not sacrifice them ever again in a lost cause. >> matthew dowd, john mccain talks about those leaders who will lead and we were showing his presidential campaign in 2007. at the time of that town meeting his campaign was all but dead, in the water. he rode back by talking to individuals at those town meetings but also in this paullypolar.o the warn' sha fin se path to e were f ere, he says he was fifth in a five-man field in

that time and everybody had basically signed off said it will be something he on that. one thing about john mccain recognized in that campaign and through his life he always fundamentally goes back to the ideals and that's what he did. i believe in america and i believe in the cause we're doing. this is how we need it to do it. this is who i am and presented himself every single time in moments of crisis and concern he returned to that. >> and we're seeing now those coming both to the cathedral. there's lindsey graham. senator kelly ayotte greeting jared kushner. and ivanka, ivanka trump. invited toepresent there d as w staff accompanying cindy mccain to the vie seeing many

more now approach that wall. >> george, you can see the tears streaming down their faces as they gather there to photograph the wreath that was left by cindy mccain. we've seen obviously john mccain's sons and his daughter meghan mccain who, george, we know well, one of our colleague, you can see her standing off watching her mother this morning at the vietnam memorial visibly moved, breaking down and meghan who wrote that heartfelt tribute in the very early days after the loss of her father, and, george, you showed earlier that powerful image of roberta mccain, that so many people were sharing through social media in the last 24 ho06 yurrs old and i'm not sure how many people know the story, obviously, of -- they know his famous father, his famous grandfather but his father, an admiral did not ask for special favors for his son when he was held prisoner of war in vietnam. but he did travel there every year when he was held prisoner of war around christmastime and

he would go to that demilitarized zone and stare into the north hoping that his son would come home one day and, you know, john mccain talked about communicating with his father when he got home and about sticking to that military code that he would not leave even though he acknowledged that he was in great pain, so fearful that he did want to go home but that he refused and in doing so as, you know, jon karl mentioned earlier and as i did, he was beaten again and put into solitary confinement and for those of us who interviewed john mccain through the years and his personality, his sense of humor, i mean he fed off people around him. his entire life and you can only imagine that the decision to put him in a solitary confinement probably was the worst thing you could have done to a young john mccain in that moment but that image of sing di mccain standing at the vietnam memorial will not only send a signal throughout

the country of paying respects to an american hero but also it recognizes the loss of all of those young soldiers in vietnam. >> david muir, thank you. the motorcade now approaching national cathedral. there you see inside the cathedral right there. there will be a service, of course, where both presidential candidates who defeated john mccain, president george w. bush and president barack obama will speak, again, hand chosen by senator mccain for this. jon karl there at the cathedral filling up right and john mccain not close to barack obama but he did want to

have those words heard today and have the country see him at that funeral. >> no question, george. john mccain said that his two presidential campaigns were about inspiring a generation to a cause greater than self-interests. inspire people to a cause greater than yourself and i think what we are seeing with this week's events all meticulously designed by john mccain is an effort to create a memorial that is greater than the man who is being memorialized. that's john mccain's intention here. heou lood theke country so deeply divided, he was horrified by what he saw. he told his advisers it does not have to be this bad and he designed a week's worth of events that would inspire the country or seek to inspire the country to overcome those divisions. so he invites both men who defeated him, neither of whom he was close to, george w. bush,

barack obama to his dying days, he had deep difrmss with both men but he wanted to send the message that despite their differences, they believed in the cause of america. he did that -- he's done d that throughout this week. each one designed by mccain in his final months. you saw yesterday when nancy pelosi and paul ryan presented -- were together in the rotunda chuck schumer and mitch mcconnell together at the rotunda. this is about overcoming divisions and sending a message to the country. >> and, jon, kind of remarkable image sent by his aides every friday over the last months he gathers aidesor ay session around him at his home to plan out the funeral. they said they couldn't go through it, get through each meeting without a lump in their

throat and without tears in their eyes. but this is something he was determined to do. >> every detail, george, the speakers, the incredible list of pallbearers who we will see here shortly, the music, every detail, this was m masterpiece, this memorial and, again, it's not about mccain. this week's event i th t mnsoule said is something far greater than he was. >> cokie,ui over the state of the country. >> total anguish and, you know, it really is remarkable because he was such a fighter and could be so iibllscraeleut rememberedr bringing people together. and this, of course, service b that. but all through his career, i covered when he came to congress in 1983, and he was just full of vinegar but then mo udall who

was this liberal democrat from arizona, completely took him under his wing and john mccain always talks about how udall was so generous to him about bringing him to events in arizona and giving him credit for things that he shouldn't have credit for and to mccain's credit, he -- when udall became quite sick would go to see him regularly in the hospital. udall couldn't see, couldn't speak, but mccain hoped he could hear and he would read to him nnd tell him what was goi o and that became how he led his life. he worked with democrats, he worked with republicans who didn't always agree with him. on all kinds of things. i mean, one of the things we haven't talked about this week is the 9/11 commission investigating the events of the horrific events of that day and there were times when the commission couldn't get secret documents or couldn't get

funding and john mccain was the person they came to and they worked with joe lieberman, his good friend who was then a democrat to make sure that it happened and you can go through issue after issue like that where he y get something done is you come together. >> and matthew dowd, not a man without flaws. >> no. >> rough, rough temper. he could -- he could -- i remember one of the first times that he encountered barack obama when he was just a senator. they had a huge fight over i think some kind of a campaign finance commission but he could always find a way both to overcome those grudges and to yes, and the start of that sort of thing was how he treated ns vietnamese captors after he erwa sawsut himself as a victim and then he went out of his way to heal the divide, even the divide between vietnam and the united states. he's a soldier, he's a hero. he's done great things.very, ve

the rough and tumble of politics. and he understands that and one of the great things about john mccain is john mccain wears his imperfections on his sleeve and talks about i made a lot of mistakes. he talks about things that happened that he was involved in that were big mistakes in his life in campaigns and said, i'm pet a perfect ontrying to do what's best for e country. >> seeing the scene inside the national cathedral. there you see jared kushner, the president's son-in-law. governor of arizona behind them there. the hearse now in front of the cathedral. will be met by the pallbearers. remarkable series of pallbearers as well. we'll get to that in a moment. there is friends, terry moran, his colleagues and what a wide circle. >> we saw that in phoenix.

the people that chose to allize him there reflecting not different aspects of his life but values as well. his friend tommy espinoza who co-chaired his presidential campaign and when mccain asked him to do that he had to remind him, i'm a democrat. and didn't matter to him and larry fitzgerald, one of the arizona cardinals and the common threat there was, he recognized in these people from all walks of life the same kinds of values he had, the optimism about our ability to work together, about doing something for the common good. that's who he liked. it wasn't famous people. it was people who in his eyes were good people and i think that's -- we will he see that here as well. >> ron claiborne, has to be said as someone who covered his campaign. he liked reporters. >> he used to refer to us as his base. he had a great relationship, gave incredible access to

reporters riding around on the bus with han 2008. he was a fun guy to be around. not just to talk politics but sports. reminiscent, tell stories, just a good time being around him. on the other hand as alluded by matt and others, he could lose his temper. asked him a question he didn't like, he wouyou would get it ri back. he would call you my friend. he would say, listen, my friend, a wonderful guy to ride with, incredible accessnd just a a fun person to be around and a humble guy at heart. >> humble guy but a very hard fighter. you talk about that 2008 campaign. it was hard fought. it was bitter at time, particularly in those debates but punctuated by moments of grace by john mccain including remarkably at his convention. let's take a look. >> a word to senator obama and his supporters, we'll go at it, we'll go at it over the next two

months, you know that's the nature of this business, and there are big differences between us. butou y respect and my admiration. >> a little while ago, i had the honor of calling senator barack obama to congratulate him. please. to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love. i urge supported me to join me in not just congratulating him but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together, whatever our differences, we are fellow americans and please believe me when i say no association has ever meant more to me than that. >> another remarkable statement, cokie roberts. he talked about giving that speech as one of the great honors of his life. >> it was really -- i couldn't

get over it at that convention. that's the moment when everybody is most head up, the acceptance speech of the nominee. all up on their chairs screaming and yelling and then he reaches out to his opponent. it really was something that was the hallmark of his life and here he comes to this cathedral which has buried presidents, eisenhower, reagan, ford and woodrow wilson is physically buried there. it is the home of the nation, even though it is of one religiitna, onon c'ss i chuderc chartered by congress to be a church for the nation. >> well, the ceremony will begin around 10:00 a.m. eastern. we'll hear from his family, we'll hear as i said from the former presidents. we'll hear from his friends. and, matthew dowd, let's talk a little more about the concession

speech back in 2000. we've seen in recent years that speech, also al gore's speech after the 2000 campaign. eesthre a moments. >> they are, and i think they're the moments most important moments in election cycles.orime winner's speech, the concession speech of the person who lost is most important in our democracy because it says we'll work together. one of the great things about that concession speech that john mccain gave in 2008 also signifies other parts -- he understood the historic moment of that night which america had just elected the first african-american president in our history and he actually harkened back to teddy roosevelt who was his hero president who invited booker t. washington to the white house being criticized for it. john mccain recognize the election of barack obama was an historic moment and didn't want to be on the opposite side of that moment. >> didn't want to be, terry moran, and all through that campaign, rejected those who

wear their overtly or subtly or covertly would try to make race an issue. >> he certainly did. he would not accept that potential ground of support for him. the people who were anxious about electing a black american and the famous scene of the woman who comes forward and says, i'm scared of him and mccain and it always struck me is that mccain first answers her with respect. he says to her, no, ma'am, no, ma'am, he says this is not what -- >> takes the microphone away. >> takes the microphone away. >> wise move. >> well, of course, he had been attacked in south carolina. there was a hate campaign that his youngest child, the adopted child from bangladesh was really the child of a liaisonca w woma vicious. it was absolutely vicious and he codn believe it was it took hi get over that with george w.

bush. it actually took him a long, long time to get over what happened in 2000 in the primaries? we'll see if president bush mentions that. another hallmark and goes back to the idea that john mccain was not perfect. but was willing to admit mistakes in that same campaign in south carolina, he did not speak out on the confederate flags in south carolina. >> george, in south carolina, he said something over and over again that he did not believe. he said he was asked about the confederate flag which was flying over the state capitol, was a major divisive issue at the time, whether it should come down and he said that he believed that it was a symbol of heritage and should stay where it is. that's not what he believed and after he lost, he said that he did that because he -- his advisers convinced him and had come to believe he would lose vote, lose south carolina if he

came -- if he came out in favor of bringing the flag down and he deeply regretted that decision. i spoke to him just days after he lost. he told me he was going to make it right and, in fact, george, not long after he dropped out of that race he went to south carolina and delivered a speech basically a mea culpa saying that it was a mistake. that he said something he didn't believe and he at that point called for the flag to come down from the state capitol. >> and, ron claiborne, as jon was speaking and we see him again right there, we see joe lieberman there, his good friend, democrat, in the senate for many years, one of the other mistakes that john mccain has talked about his regret he didn't pick joe lieberman to be his running mate. >> he wanted to pick joe lieberman. he was told if he did so, it would blow up the republican party, so instead he made arguably another mistake, he chose as his running mate someone he didn't know, someone

he had very little experience with and he was also running on the back obama, the notion that he didn't have -- he was uncomfortabled to be president. dn'av t he h, didn't have the experience to be president and then he chose someone who one could argue had even less experience and depth than barack obama, you know, the hallmark of his campaign had been putting country first but at the ages of 71, almost 72 when actuthere was a possibilit might not survive a first or second term he chose a running mate, a heartbeat away from the presidency who many believed was not qualified to be president. >> sarah palin not invited today. >> john mccain is through his life and said this before is he always questions when he doesn't go with his gut and his gut was to pick joe lieberman in that race. we don't know if it would have

made a difference but in the and enwrote this in his recent book is that he regretted not doing that and picking sarah palin in that. >> and actually one of the few times that we've seen that picking a vice president actually did make a difference and a negative difference for him in that election. >> we can see the cathedral filling up right now. the honor guard staginndtht ae ready. for john mccain. his family is also taking their places. inside the cathedral. we have not seen the former presidents inside the cathedral. there we see senators -- senator rob portman of ohio along with the speaker of the house, paul

ryan. almost all of official washington gathered inside the cathedral today. and there's president barack obama along with former lady michelle obama. george w. bush. and laura bush who did pay their respects to john mccain in recent months at cottonwood. hillary clinton, al gore. jon karl, as we see everybody coming, he was a great drinking buddy of hillary clinton. >> yes, he struck up something of a friendship with her in the senate. they joined forces on a couple of causes. i wouldn't say it was an incredibly warm relationship but it was a remarkable one. she came in under extraordinary circumstances, obviously, the first former first lady of the united states to be elected to

the united states senate and she set out to kind of charm john mccain and to court him and to ask his advice when she first came to the senate. >> we see there former vice president dick cheney, the president's national security adviser john bolton along with senator clinton there. boy, terry, it's hard not to address the elephant in the room as we see those former presidents there, as we see the president's staff, as we see george w. bush, as we see laura bush, glaring in the absence, president trump. >> who is tweeting today about the investigation into him. this was a choice that john mccain made. obviously they had a very bitter feud. you can't imagine someone who has practiced politics more differently than donald trump from the politics of john mccain. he has the exact opposite approach to making the country great, whether it's again or not

and i think, i think that is a message from john mccain and from president trump. this is the political moment we're in. but i think the entire week it's been structured by john mccain, who always looked forward to say something different. >> his family now coming out of the motorcade. cindy mccain. now approaching the cathedral. has to be so difficult to play it out over the entire week. >> a full week of good-byes and of being in public and so you have to do your best and look your best and try to keep the tears from overcoming you. and they have done quite a remarkable job. yesterday, the moment that roberta mccain, his 106-year-old

mother went up to the coffin and made the sign of the cross was really the toughest moment, you know, no matter how old you are, losing a child is a terrible thing to have happen and, of course, all of this family is in addition to losing a great american hero has lost a father and a husband. and that is very hard to play out through the course of a week. and they've done it quite well and i'm sure that they are also honored and feeling this is quite a tribute that they are -- that they're happy about. >> something they are doing for him. for their husband, for their father. the honor guard now approaching the casket. >> it's a great honor.

as the family now enters the

cathedral. the casket met by reverend mariann edgar budde. ral, reverend ndolph washington marshall holleth. and i will give you rest. let us pray then for our brother john. as he may rest from his labors and enter into the light of god's eternal sabbath rest. with faith in jesus christ we receive the body of our brother, john, for burial. let us pray with confidence to god, the giver of life, that he will raise him to perfectio of t

deliver your servant john, sovereign lord jesus christ from all evil and set him free from every bond, that he may rest with all your saints in the eternal habitations where with the father and the holy spirit you live and reign one god forever and ever. amen. let us also pray for all who mourn that they may cast their care on god, consolation of his love. almighty god, look with pity upon the sorrows of your servants for whom we pray. remember them, gracious god in mercy, nourish them with patience, comfort them with the sense of your goodness, lift up

your countenance on them and give them peace through jesus christ our lord. >> amen. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ >> senator manafort enters t the -- senator mccain now enters the cathedral. the pallbearers he picked. will take their spots as well. friends and colleagues who terry gave such a moving eulogy in phoenix.

>> moving because of the friendship they shared for decades and because of the loss that joe biden had suffered as well, his son beau dying from the same form of brain cancer that took john mccain and biden speaking directly to the family from the experience of that loss and telling them he understood it but that there will come a day when as he put it a smile will come to their lip before a tear comes to their eye. >> cokie, john mccain died nine years to the day that such ted kennedy did. >> such an irony that should happen and, again, two men who fought all the time but who came together in important moments and also both of whom along with joe biden on behalf of his son beau were trying very hard to do something about cancer. and really using their own

suffering to try to help others. >> there in that first row of the cathedral, three presidents, barack obama, george w. bush, bill clinton. paying their respects. of course, former first lady laura bush and former first lady michelle obama in there too. ♪ bill clinton coming off, of course, another remarkable american farewell yesterday, several hours of good-bye to aretha franklin in detroit. a very different service. both american originals. two former vice presidents there, as well, dick cheney and al gore and the senator's mother, roberta mccain. 106 years old. ♪

after the service one final ceremony the burial near the naval academy tomorrow in annapolis, maryland. that will be private. senators there, chuck schumer, mitch mcconnell, the republican leader of the senator, orrin hatch, an old friend, often adversary of john mccain. jeff flake, the junior senator

said he'd always be known as the other senator from arizona. matthew dowd, we saw chuck schumer right after the death sete oice builor john eusse mccain >> yes, he thought it would be a bipartisan honor him and the vast majority of the senate wanted to do it but it stalled as things happen in washington, d.c. these days. >> there you see john bolton, the president's national security adviser. his chief of staff john kelly there in the third row. and james mattis the defense secretary. the president's daughter ivanka trump, jared kushner, his son-in-law. vice president gore. they shared a commitment, terry moran, to clooiment change, doing something about it. >> they did.

that was another heresy in some ways from the party that john mccain shared but looking at all these senators, i'm struck by the line that joe biden used in his eulogy. he said it was just great to see the onccain's face as he stepped on the floor to start a fight. he was a happy warrior in that way. >> along with ted kennedy, that was something that they absolutely shared. >> and not afraid to step out alone, of course, that signature moment, cokie roberts, that final vote against the repeal of obamacare. thumb's down. >> a gasp heard and of course from the white house but he decided that he was not going to cut people off from their health insurance in arizona and, again, some of that came out of his experience. >> and, matthew dowd, that wasn't just about health care. it was about health care but also about this idea we have to work together. >> he gave a speech in that moment as well where he said basically this is ridiculous.

we should be able to get along and come up with something everybody likes and should be able to do this and the senate is not functioning. our democracy is broken. this is crazy and he basically used that moment for it. >> said we're not getting anything done. >> yeah. >> and one of the people who went to see him in the capitol yesterday, she had waited in line for hours and hours and she was quoted saying, he never tweeted about something instead of solving something. >> leaves a huge hole in the senate. that seat from arizona still vacant right now governor doug ducey says he will not fill it until after the services are done and there, of course, you see robert dole, former senator robert dole, republican leader, presidential candidate.

another man who could fight fiercely, cokie roberts, but could work across party lines. >> in his farewell speech to the senate when he was running for president in 199 of the people he singled out were almost all democrats that he talked about that day. he was particularly proud of his work on the americans with disabilities act. of course, from his own experience, again. he's now in his 90s. and still greeting world war ii veterans. at the world war ii memorial on a regular basis so that bond of being veterans together is very, very strong and, again, that is something we're missing in the congress today. it used to be that almost everybody in congress had been a veteran at some point or was a veteran and now we have hardly any and it does affect how they see the country. >> that may be changing again. a number of veterans running for congress this year.

>> oh, yeah, there's been a tremendous amount almost in every state of the country where men and women veterans running in many, democrat, republican, independent, i was looking at that picture of barack obama and george w. bush and i think this is an important moment but it's an important moment for them and i think john mccain just put pressure on two presidents one more time because he put on them it's important what you say today. it's very important what you each say today. >> those families have gotten to be very close, particularly the women, laura bush and michelle obama really are friends. >> jon karl, you had the chance to see that tableau all come in today. your reflections? >> well, striking to see the two former presidents there next to each other and see barack obama, you know, on that health care vote that you were talking about

earlier, john mccain dramatically came in with the thumb's down, tanked the efforts and got a call from barack obama right after that vote thanking him and mccain, classic mccain said to obama that he didn't do it to save obamacare, that wasn't his intention. he did it to force the senate to come together to do something better. so, he was just, again, remarkable, reaching across party line, but he wasn't a squishy, you know, moderate. he had firm -- he had firm beliefs, sometimes those beliefs put him on the right of the political spectrum. sometimes in the center or even to the left. but he had firm convictions. he fought for them and at the end of those battles, he be it was imporrnt tond think ty divided couny to overcome those divisions.

>> we just saw senator susan collins as you were talking, as well. she put it well the other day saying we've lost -- there really are no more giants in the senate, she said. and, cokie roberts, you can feel that. it does feel like the passing. >> absolutely. the senate is the world's greatest deliberative body has really lost its way and it is become a place where they're more unlikely to be street brawls than reasonable debate and that is a problem. susan collins, i must say, is one of the people trying to change that along with other women in the senate, but it is a very, very difficult time for this republica. >> senator dole and senator leahy. along with elizabeth warren

th k num but thereoday to p tir enate respects to their friend and colleague, senator john mccain. thank you for joining us again for our coverage of the celebration of senator john mccain. memorial service this morning at washington's national cathedral. that is vintage george w. bush right there. i mean. >> he's got that smirk on his face and it's a serious moment but he's always got a slight grin. >> always got something going on, as well, president clinton and president barack obama, first ladies laura bush and michelle obama. senator mitch mcconnell. another adversary along with elaine chao,hertio ng who ma ot giving a moving speech on thi w about what it was like,