being open and candid in our discussions. The trust and confidence that formed the foundation of our relationship was essential to the eventual approval of S.744 by the Senate with a strong bipartisan vote. McCain was the first Senator to praise our efforts and results, and he did so publicly. I also recall my time serving as an agricultural advisor to McCain during his presidential run in 2008. From time to time, our industry partners would claim that McCain wasn’t supporting us on critical issues. I would ask to speak with him, and he always returned my call, several times calling me at home. If I ever asked for a letter of support for our issues, he would respond immediately. McCain also has a sense of humor, which is occasionally on public display. One time we discussed my Lebanese heritage, to which I gave him the following definition: A Lebanese is someone who can buy from an Armenian,
sell to a Jew and still make a profit. He was astute enough to know that we were at an event in Fresno and began to extoll the virtues of the Armenian community. After the event, he said he didn’t think he could repeat my joke for obvious reasons, but we still had a good laugh in private. Given my personal relationship with John McCain, and my admiration for his years of tireless service to our country, the news of his cancer diagnosis has weighed heavily on my heart as it has the nation. However, through faith and prayer, I believe he will overcome this challenge, just as he has overcome every other obstacle in his life. Whatever the outcome may be, McCain has earned a title of far greater importance than Senator. He is an American Statesman and true hero. May the Lord bless you and your remarkable family, John McCain.
Our disdain for the state of our modern politics may make it easy to overlook statesmen in our midst. I place Senator John McCain in that special class. He has always put America first in more than 60 years of service to our country.
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