It took a little more than a year for Glioblastoma to kill Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. Beau Biden, the son of the last vice president, held it off for about three years. More than likely, the cancer will soon claim the life of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

Realistically then, McCain is a dead-man walking and that’s what makes his speech on the Senate floor Tuesday so remarkable — and some of his critics so despicable.