While I watched the GOP debate with a jaundiced eye, there were a couple of truly moving and human moments, and they both came courtesy of John McCain.

One was when a young woman who lost her brother in Iraq only eight days before he was supposed to come home. While I completely disagreed with McCain’s answer to the young woman, I didn’t doubt for a second that his response to her came from the depths of his soul- his soul as a soldier and POW. It’s these kinds of moments that you actually watch the debates for, in order to see if there’s something behind all the studying and the consultants. The real measure of a candidate.

The second moment was when McCain defended immigration. I thought, for sure, that he would be buried because the Immigration Bill is SO unpopular with the GOP base. But, his, dare I say eloquence, about going to the Vietnam Memorial and seeing all the Hispanic names etched there, combined with the comments about meeting young Hispanics, only armed with a Green Card, fighting in Iraq- that was definitely a shining moment for him.

I don’t agree with him on the Immigration Bill, but I thought that was one of the best defenses from anyone, Democrat or Republican, that I’ve heard.

In these two moments, I saw the John McCain of 2000 that I thought would obviously be a better choice for the GOP than George Bush. I don’t know if he did himself any good with the primary voters, but, as an American, it was good to see that humanity from John McCain.

Also crossposted at Mirror On America.

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