There have been some ugly comments recently about Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. With the senator at home in Arizona fighting brain cancer, a young White House aide reportedly told colleagues they need not worry about his objections to CIA nominee Gina Haspel because, “It doesn’t matter, he’s dying anyway.”

At the same time, a retired three-star Air Force general suggested McCain cooperated with his North Vietnamese captors in his five-plus years in captivity, saying McCain’s nickname was “songbird John” — a baseless charge that dates back to dirty tricks against McCain in the 2008 presidential campaign.