As IF Times

Source: John McCain Funeral Plans: Lying in State at Capitol Rotunda – The New York Times

It would have been impossible to miss the coverage of the recent celebrity memorial services since they were broadcast on every station as if they were moon landings. What should have been dignified proceedings morphed into big commercial productions. Both John Mccain and Aretha Franklin were given no less than state sendoffs as everybody who was anybody was present at their respective services. In the case of Franklin, music legends took their turns at eulogizing the legend, but as expected, some used the occasion to fire off not so veiled slams against the incumbent President.

Predictably, Al Sharpton, the great Uniter, snarked at a Trump remark commending her on her work thusly, “No, she used to perform for you — she worked for us…” Us meaning the folk, including of course, Bill Clinton, who as the first black president, was in attendance. Growing up listening to Aretha, it wasn’t obvious that she was performing only for a specific demo, but what did we know then? Hmm, it puts the music of Elvis and the Beatles in a different light now.

In the case of Mccain, his sendoff had to be political. When you spend the entirety of your adult life in the political arena, the majority of your peeps will be politicos. Both sides of the political divide were represented as they canonized Mccain for his service to the nation in his 60 year career. Some might have been surprised at the outpouring of affection from the Democratic notables, while others would remark that this was not the least surprising. As heartfelt as some of the eulogies were, we can’t help but be reminded of the narrative about Mccain during his career.

Huffington Post 2008: Mccain mentally unfit to be President
Huffington Post 2012: Mccain a racist and woman hater
Huffington Post 2018: Mccain a bipartisan American Hero

So it’s true that in politics, there are certainly strange bedfellows. Politicos and activists will say anything regardless of their convictions. That’s hardly news, but the next time you hear one of them bloviate passionately about some cause which makes no sense, you will know that it’s all theater. It is a darn good lesson for the public and probably the best takeaway from the memorials.  When it comes to politics, you really don’t know who your friends are.