So journalists aren’t supposed to get emotional on-air. And I don’t. Or I should say I haven’t. Until today.
I tell viewers we’re people, too. We live in your communities. And we’re citizens.
The death of Sen. John McCain is a big, historic moment for our state and our country, at a time when "history" is written tweet by tweet.
I’ve covered McCain for about 15 years. I do not get wrapped up in the politicians I cover. Many of them might tell you I’m mean or a jerk. McCain and I had our run-ins, too.
But McCain transcends politics. He is the symbol of an idea of America that may have fallen out of fashion:
Serving a cause greater than yourself.
He leads a great American family, blended and diverse. They’ve had ups and downs, all in the public eye.
I know the story.
But they represent the best of what America can be.
There was the tableau today of Cindy McCain, flanked by one son in the Navy, the other a Marine veteran of Iraq, watching the flag-draped casket of her husband carried out of a hearse.
There was Meghan McCain, hunched in grief as her husband led her into the Capitol.
Sometimes it’s hard to know why we cry, get choked up.
For me, it was grief. For his family’s loss. For our state and country’s loss.
And, yes, for my loss.
