OPINION | Barry Richard: McCain Right On Trump, Wrong About Palin

Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) is a war hero. President Donald Trump was wrong about McCain. I may disagree with McCain's politics, but he is a great American.

The New York Times claims to have obtained a copy of McCain's soon-to-be-released book, and claims to have been told by sources close to McCain that the ailing U.S. Senator does not want Trump to attend his funeral. The paper says it has been told that McCain wants Vice President Mike Pence to attend instead, and has requested eulogies by former Presidents George W. Bush and Barrack Obama.

Politics is war and it can be hell. You make friends, and you make more enemies along the way. Why Trump and McCain don't mesh is not entirely clear, but that is politics, and it is certainly McCain's right to request that Trump stay away from his funeral. Whatever.

Another tidbit from the McCain book, according to the Times, is that the Senator says he regrets having chosen former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008 in his failed bid for the White House. McClain reportedly wishes he has chosen former Democrat Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Connecticut) instead of Palin.

Palin was a much better candidate than Lieberman, who is pro-abortion, would have been. McCain is a moderate-to-liberal Republican who was a disaster to many Independents and Republicans. Sarah Palin was the attractive part of that ticket for many of us, but McCain and the RNC sat quietly as the media and the left savaged her mercilessly. McCain, or more likely Mitt Romney, was afraid to get in the ring and mix it up with Obama, and got his clocked cleaned as a result.

McCain was the drag on the ticket, not Palin. I was thrilled that McCain selected a strong woman to run with in 2008, but thoroughly disappointed that the Republican party did nothing to try to win.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.