Word: defeat
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...brutish tone of his campaign and the generally spiteful mood inside the Republican Party, McCain faces a period of uncertain length in the wilderness, abandoned by former admirers on the right and the left. And so his latest test of character awaits: How does he overcome this defeat and retake his place as one of his party's best legislators? (See pictures of John McCain's final push on the campaign trail...
...mount a clean push for victory. Instead, McCain just corkscrewed into the ground. And so it will be important to see what lessons McCain learns from his campaign and what role he plays as a member of a shrunken minority in Congress. Will he harbor bitter memories of his defeat and the poor treatment he feels he received from his old friends in the national media? Or will he revert to past form and become an accessible gadfly and bipartisan dealmaker...
...After his loss to Bush in 2000, McCain became the go-to Republican for Democrats looking for a partner on a big piece of legislation. He joked about sleeping like a baby after losing (i.e., waking up and crying in the middle of the night), but he dealt with defeat and his new prominence by pouring his energy into his work on Capitol Hill. "I think you'll see a lot of straight talk from him right away," says veteran GOP consultant Scott Reed. "He'll be the first to criticize what he really didn't like about the campaign...
Before hundreds of Republican activists, the Republican nominee refused to play to partisan passions or score political points. In blunt terms, he praised the historic significance of Barack Obama's victory and embraced the pain of his own defeat. "Though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours," he told the crowd, earning jeers along with cheers...
...McCain, the defeat has clearly been painful. But as he has in past bouts with adversity, the Arizona senator evoked his love of country as the thing that made it all worthwhile. "I would not be an American worthy of the name should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century," he said, as the crowd booed. He acknowledged the strain his aspirations had put on his family. "I promise more peaceful years ahead," he said...