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The Man In The Arena

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By MARK SHARPE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 8, 2008

John McCain is an iconic figure, and his last campaign for president reflected the strengths and weaknesses of a man whom I have grown to revere as perhaps one of the greatest leaders in modern political history.

My decision in early 2007 to support John McCain in his bid for the White House was easy, as I had supported his failed quixotic run in 2000 against the establishment candidate, then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush. Now, eight years later, America, weary from partisan rancor and eager for new leadership at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, was ready for a change. Yes, Sen. Obama would incorporate change into the symbol of his candidacy, but it was John McCain who had it etched into his DNA.

I have always admired McCain's spunk and his ability to challenge the prevalent orthodoxy with a mixture of jocular self-deprecating humor and controlled rage. He is blessed with raw courage, a towering intellect and the ability to reach across the aisle to work with the other party to solve problems. McCain befriends people regardless of their party affiliation or ideology, seeking kindred spirits who love country and are willing to put service to others above service to self. For some, that is a campaign slogan, but to those who know John McCain, it is the essence of the man.

But now, in the summer of 2007, I watched as his campaign imploded. His campaign, which started with such high expectations, was now deeply in debt, having spent enormous sums of money on consultants and staff. Each day that passed only brought more bad news as staff was laid off and embarrassing details about his dysfunctional campaign were slowly leaked to the media. My cell phone rang incessantly with people asking who I would now support, and they routinely voiced incredulity that I would even consider staying with McCain. "He is toast," my friends laughed. It was in those dark moments that I rediscovered the true John McCain - and his candidacy righted itself for victory in New Hampshire seven months later.

Most people would have quit during those terrible days, but not Sen. McCain. Having shed staff, parked his "Straight Talk Express" bus, and swapped private jets for commercial air while hitching rides with the true believers, McCain reintroduced himself to the voters as the candidate we had come to know and love in 2000.

Gone were the canned speeches, back was the trademark humor and the small town meetings that would symbolize his candidacy. By the time I arrived in New Hampshire to join his campaign, McCain had conducted over 100 town meetings, and the size of his audiences had grown from a mere handful to hundreds and then thousands. On a snowy Saturday in Salem, N.H., just days before the Republican primary, I watched as thousands of Americans roared in laughter to his old jokes and heartedly applauded each response to the questions fired at him by independent-minded New Englanders.

Jan. 9, 2008, was a crisp, beautiful morning as McCain arrived to greet voters at a local polling station in Nashua. Upon getting off the bus he was crushed in a sea of press, supporters and onlookers, eager to catch a glimpse of the man who had defied the odds and was on his way to an amazing upset victory against the favored former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney. The picture captures the arena he eagerly sought and where I served as a buffer against the swarming hoards. That night we yelled ourselves hoarse in victory that "Mac was Back," free from the shackles of handlers and consultants who had tried so hard to comport him to the norm of what we had come to expect from Republican front-runners. This maverick would win the Republican nomination and go on to wage a heroic general election campaign against insurmountable odds, which I will not belabor in this piece.

Like wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who lost his election in England in 1945 to a party that voters deemed better prepared to deal with the economic calamity facing post-war England, McCain was doomed by the global economic crisis we now suffer. Yet like Churchill, he will always be esteemed as the towering leader who defied military and political odds in the service of a nation.

We all like to win, and many of us spend a lifetime trying to stand on the side of the victor, afraid to commit for fear of failure. But America's greatest moments are made by those who fearlessly brave defeat, even death, in the name of serving a cause greater than themselves. In defeat, John McCain epitomized the heroic character Teddy Roosevelt extolled in his famous speech, "The Man in the Arena," which I commend every citizen to read. Like McCain, I honor the extraordinary achievement of our President-elect Barack Obama, and pray for his family, health and success. I also pray that Americans take time to remember the words of Sen. McCain as he graciously conceded defeat, for it holds the key to our nation's future and his enduring success:

"Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history, we make history." -- Sen. John McCain, Nov. 4, 2008.

Mark Sharpe is a member of the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners.

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