It wasn’t the most important moment at Saturday’s funeral in Washington for Sen. John McCain, but it certainly got a lot of “feel good” attention.
In a video clip shared on Twitter, former President George W. Bush could be seen taking something tiny out of the hand of his wife, Laura, and discretely passing it to another former first lady sitting next to him — Michelle Obama. In the clip, Obama can be seen mouthing “thank you” back.
Initially, it was reported that the object was candy, but the George W. Bush Presidential Center later reported it was a cough drop.
The gesture took on special significance largely because of the deep divisions in this country between political parties and races. The act — a white Republican showing a kindness to a black Democrat — symbolized in many ways what McCain’s last days and funeral lamented: the loss of civility and bipartisanship in Washington and in many parts of this nation.
McCain’s request that Bush and Barack Obama deliver eulogies at his funeral underscored the deceased senator’s belief that former political foes could and should patch up their differences after the campaign is over.
Bush and Obama both denied McCain’s aspirations for this nation’s highest office, but the Arizona senator maintained a respect for them even in defeat.
It also should be noted, though, that McCain himself was not always successful at such fence-mending. To his deathbed, McCain felt an animosity toward Donald Trump and, even after death, carried it out with the family’s request that the current president not be at his funeral. It would have been awkward for Trump to attend.
Still, it was regrettable that McCain, with mortality on his doorstep, could not bring himself to be more magnanimous.
When George W. Bush passed that cough drop to Michelle Obama, it was a cute moment, but it should not have been all that remarkable. The fact that it was perceived that way says something unflattering about how low our expectations for kindness and civility in politics have become.
