Now do President Barack Obama, whose dangerous worldview has allowed hundreds of thousands to die in Syria (Of course, this is not a wish for President Obama’s imminent passing. It’s strictly a hypothetical). What about Kennedy and Johnson’s foolish escalation in Vietnam? What about FDR, who caved to isolationists as Europe self-destructed at extraordinary cost?

Mr. Lundergan’s editorial on the “deification” of Senator John McCain is simply lousy. Mr. Lundergan’s concern is not with the praise for Senator McCain; it’s with celebration of someone who he disagrees with. As Mr. Lundergan notes, Senator McCain was not perfect. In fact, that was a theme of Senator McCain’s life. But the recent commemoration of the late Senator was not to exalt his policy. President Obama noted as much. It was to recall his extraordinary character. I don’t think Mr. Lundergan is unaware of as much, but I would nevertheless recommend David Foster Wallace’s (by no means a conservative) brilliant profile of the senator from 2000.

Besides, what of Senator McCain’s admirable policy accomplishments? He took personal scandal and engineered comprehensive campaign finance legislation (albeit ill-fated before the Supreme Court) that could have markedly altered our broken election system. Senator McCain bolstered human rights in America and around the world. He worked ardently to combat climate change in the mold of a Teddy Roosevelt Republican. He was one of the prime movers on attempts to humanely improve immigration. He was a champion of liberty and democratic values.

Senator McCain was nevertheless a conservative, and that appears to be Mr. Lundergan’s issue. Respectfully, I believe you’ve missed the point.