They came to Washington from across the country — and began lining up to pay their respects to John McCain at seven in the morning.
“He single-handedly saved my access to health care, and I could not be more grateful for that,” said AnnaMarie Farone, 33, a freelancer from Indianapolis and the first person in line for the public viewing at the Capitol Friday.
Farone, a self-described liberal who supported Barack Obama, has a degenerative disk in her spine and usually walks with a cane. She didn’t agree with McCain’s politics but said she valued his spirit.
“Through the worst of everything he was able to keep an incredibly optimistic spirit, and we need more of that,” she said. “He never tweeted about something instead of solving something.”
Brian Erdelyi, 46, a left-leaning Canadian living in Richmond, Virginia and working on cyber-security issues, said he wanted to pay tribute to McCain’s career and his values in public life.
“I think he showed a lot of integrity during his campaigning, and I think it’s sorely missing in today’s politics,” said Erdelyi, who was the second person in line.
