CNN’s Brinkley: John McCain ‘Epitomizes Duty, Honor, and Country ‘

RUSH EXCERPT:

CUPP: "I appreciate it. Next up, I want to bring in Douglas Brinkley, CNN presidential historian. John McCain famously did not become president though he ran twice, but few politicians who don’t become president rise to the level of national prominence that he has. Put that in perspective."
BRINKLEY: "You’re right. Very few. John Glenn of Ohio comes to mind, the great Mercury astronaut, but John McCain’s going to be remembered forever in American history. He epitomizes duty, honor and country and might seem old fashioned. We’re missing — he loved this company, comes from a family. When he was shot down, that was his 23rd mission. Tortured down as a P.O.W."
CUPP: "How much does McCain’s military history shape his role? Not only being a P.O.W., but also how that informed his foreign policy. His views on torture, on the Iraq war, don’t ask don’t tell. That’s a big part of his legacy, is it not?"
BRINKLEY: "It really is. As you well know. The Pentagon never had somebody that was a better friend. He was Reagan conservative, but he could criticize Reagan. He did no 1983 over sending U.S. Marines to Beirut. We lost hundreds of Marines there in a bomber explosion. Reagan was wrong, but beyond that, he never forgot Vietnam. He collaborated with John Kerry and max Cleveland, Bob Kerry. There was a whole class of Vietnam vets and they never forgot their service to our country in southeast Asia and the men and women who fought there."