Still More from the Obit Dept.

John McCain
McCain was a frequent subject in my blog since its beginning in 2005--I feared his political potential.
I view him as the best Republican Presidential candidate of the past 50 years--by which I mean the strongest, in terms of his temperament, personality, status as a war hero, ability to communicate, and even capability. Ironically, he lost quite decisively in his one Presidential general election contest  (his Electoral College margin of defeat in 2008 was slightly less than the worst Republican defeat  over that period, that of Bob Dole in 1996).  He was defeated by the best Democratic candidate over that same time period.

I apologize for being relieved when Dubya's campaign sandbagged McCain in the SC primary in 2000, as I thought Bush would be the easier opponent for Gore to defeat.  I was punished, severely, for that arrogance.  As it turned out, McCain's weakness was also Hillary Clinton's:--lack of ability to lead the strategy of a Presidential campaign, to select a suitable running mate, and most importantly, to select the people to run it.   Like Hillary, he was also unlucky:  in choice of opponent in 2008,  and in the circumstances which contributed to his defeat (in his case, the collapse of the economy during his 2008 campaign)

Top services to our country by John McCain: 
1) His incredible heroism as a POW in the Vietnam War.  Regardless of what you may feel about that conflict, his leadership (as the most senior captive) and willingness to give all for country and his comrades-in-arms were all that we could have wanted or deserved.  More, in fact.
2)  His principled opposition to Donald Trump, on policy (as with the ACA vote this year), on Trump's astonishing betrayal of our national interest in Helsinki, on his lack of ethics, morals, honor or dignity--all four of these last characteristics were right in McCain's wheelhouse (Navy term).  If Trump wants to "act Presidential", he should ignore what he thinks that would be, and instead consider:  what would John McCain do?
3) tie - His alliance with Russ Feingold to lead reform of campaign financing; and his alliance with the "Group of 8" to put forward bipartisan immigration reform.  In the end, both of these efforts failed, but that's not on him.
5) His opposition to waterboarding and other human rights violations as a matter of US policy.  He deserves full credit for a strong stance on this, but I rate it lower, as this wss a no-brainer for him based on his own experience.

His worst moments in public service are easy to identify:  1)  His cheerleading for the Iraq war after 9/11; and 2) Getting tangled up in the Savings and Loan scandal in the late '80's (one of the Keanting Five).  The latter showed his talent for survival, something he had demonstrated amply in his Navy career (surviving being shot down, and the incredible experience he had of surviving a tragic accident on the deck of the USS Forestal).  It was these moments of escaping tragedy which provided him inspiration, as he fully recognized how fortunate he had been, and I would say that one could draw a line from the scandal to his willingness to do something about campaign finance.

Among all the plaudits, I read one critical one that accused McCain of being a "fraud".  The author was referring to the fact that his "maverick" reputation was overstated by the press, who loved him because of the access that he granted them.  I would say that McCain probably encouraged the hero worship, but, again, it wasn't his fault, but the journalists'. He was a straight-up "conservative" in the classic Republican mode:  free trade internationalist (in the American nationalist interventionist sense), militarist, anti-welfare state, and he didn't pretend otherwise.

Actually McCain was--or at least, became--a man of undoubted integrity.  Interestingly, the word has two definitions:  the first relates to quality of ethics and morals, but the second is "complete or undivided completeness".  That makes Trump a man of integrity, too--a complete asshole, as he has proven, once again, with his behavior toward McCain.  As usual, his comportment has been an obscenity, though Drumpf's handlers have managed to reduce the damage which his gut wanted.  That gut--it's hateful, and also something to hate.  And I do.

As he was Trump's leading opponent within the Republican party, McCain's passing will facilitate the completion of its transition into a total Drumpfian nightmare, particularly in Congress.  No one of the party will be left standing after 2018 who is bold enough to challenge the President, unless the defeat of the party is unambiguous this November.

In McCain's absence, it falls exclusively upon us survivors to commit to the complete obliteration of The Party of Trump as a national force. Whether it is replaced by a rump of moderates in a new organization, it becomes a permanent minority party of reaction and bigotry, or just disappears entirely, any of those would be a great outcome for the future of the nation and for humanity. And you shouldn't  worry for the future of two-party democracy under those circumstances:  if the Democrats didn't have these creeps to oppose, their unity would fracture very quickly.  In the meantime, though, I will brook no divisiveness;  there can be dissent about the best way to Depose Trump, but none on the objective, and ultimately unity must be maintained until the job is done.

Neil Simon
He was at the top of the heap of Broadway comedy scriptwriters for a period, which I would place in the '60s and early '70's.  He produced sterling dialogue which favored characters, typically upper-class white New York men, in comedic situations suitable also for TV and movies which did not overly challenge our social mores.  Along with "Barefoot in the Park" and "The Out-of-Towners", he is best remembered for originating"The Odd Couple", a play about two men of opposite temperament living uncomfortably together in an outsized New York apartment.  It was a huge success as a movie, then as a long-running TV series.
In the last 40 years or so, he remained prolific but not so relevant.  Today, The Odd Couple would be a standard gay sitcom looking for a real hook. As a cultural icon, his logical successor was Woody Allen, who was much more provocative (I'd say funnier, too, at least in the early days).  In the television sense, successors which show his influence would include "Will and Grace", "Frasier",  and "Modern Family" .