Despite some of my foreign policy differences — like the whole bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb bomb Iran thing — with Senator John McCain who once told me he was “the original neoconservative”, I have always greatly, truly admired his patriotism and dedication to trying to get the American political system to operate honestly and in a way consistent with what the framers of the Constitution intended. He has been a major voice in the country on campaign and elections reform, on fiscal matters, on national security, on immigration, and on leadership in every sense.
His body of work actually deserves a library to house it — but our system doesn’t give those who come in second place for the Presidency a National Archives run operation. Instead, McCain and a bipartisan group of supporters — including Senators Kelly Ayotte, Sheldon Whitehouse, Lindsey Graham, Mark Udall, Joe Lieberman, Carl Levin as well as CIA Director David Petraeus, and others — are punctuating the start of a new university-based institute committed to the leadership principles John McCain exhibited and encouraged, particularly in young people.
Under the leadership of former US Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker who will serve as Executive Director and with a $9 million gift from the McCain institute Foundation (which itself received $9 million in donations from the McCain-Palin campaign surplus), Arizona State University is announcing today the establishment of the McCain Institute for International Leadership.
The McCain Institute press announcement specifies four key pillars of work:
