\u201cJohn was above all a man with a code. He lived by a set of public virtues that brought strength and purpose to his life and to his country.\u00a0\u00bb<\/b>
\nFormer President George W. Bush memorialized Arizona Sen. John McCain on Saturday as an honorable friend and leader who was honest, courageous and not afraid to speak out against \u201cbigots and swaggering despots.\u201d
\u201cJohn was above all a man with a code. He lived by a set of public virtues that brought strength and purpose to his life and to his country,\u201d the 43rd president said during a memorial service at the National Cathedral in Washington.
\u201cHe was courageous, with a courage that frightened his captors and inspired his countrymen. He was honest, no matter who it offended \u2015 presidents were not spared,\u201d he said, drawing laughs.
\u201cBack in the day, he could frustrate me, and I know he\u2019d say the same thing about me,\u201d he said, appearing to draw a laugh from McCain\u2019s wife, Cindy McCain. \u201cBut he also made me better.\u201d
Former President Barack Obama echoed a similar sentiment during his own eulogy at the service, stating that McCain \u201cmade us better presidents \u2014 just as he made the Senate better. Just as he made the country better.\u201d
President Donald Trump \u2015 who appeared to be a target of many of the service\u2019s eulogies \u2015 clashed with McCain during his presidency and did not attend the service.
Bush, who successfully ran against McCain for the White House in 2000, emphasized that it was the Vietnam veteran\u2019s loyalty to his country and respect to his fellow human being, whether it\u2019s friend or foe, that made him so great.
\u201cHe was honorable. Always recognizing that his opponents were still patriots and human beings. He loved freedom with a passion of a man who knew its absence. He respected the dignity inherent in every life, a dignity that does not stop at borders and cannot be erased by dictators,\u201d he said. \u201cPerhaps above all, John detested the abuse of power. He could not abide bigots and swaggering despots; there was something deep inside of him that made him stand up for the little guy, to speak for forgotten people, in forgotten places.\u201d
Bush concluded his speech by stating that though the senator \u201chas moved on,\u201d his legacy will continue.
\u201cHe would probably not want us to dwell on it, but we are better for his presence among us. The world is smaller for his departure, and we will remember him as he was: unwavering, undimmed, unequal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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