Turn of Phrase - The Real John McCain Returns

Senator John McCain, (R - AZ)
Photo: Johannes Simon / Getty

"What makes America exceptional among the countries of the world is that we are bound together as citizens not by blood or class, not by sect or ethnicity, but by a set of enduring, universal, and equal rights that are the foundation of our constitution, our laws, our citizenry, and our identity.

When anyone, not least a member of Congress, launches specious and degrading attacks against fellow Americans on the basis of nothing more than fear of who they are and ignorance of what they stand for, it defames the spirit of our nation, and we all grow poorer because of it."

- From Senator John McCain, in his eloquent defense of Huma Abedin, Sec. of State Clinton's Deputy Chief of Staff, who faces unsupported allegations that she used her position to exert a pro-Islamist influence over American foreign policy.

In remarks he made on the floor of the U.S. Senate, McCain completely dismissed a letter composed by Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann and four other Congressmen, in which the lawmakers questioned Abedin's loyalty and alleged she has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood organization.

McCain's speech, which you can view a clip of on Politico, is refreshing on two levels.