Twelve years after John McCain conceded the 2008 U.S. presidential election to Barack Obama, the video of McCain’s speech has gone viral, racking up about 15 million views.
People began sharing the video on Thursday after Donald Trump claimed voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. According to Newsweek, “McCain’s words in 2008 contrast with what many heard coming out of the White House on Thursday evening.”
Contrast is part of the reason the video went viral. McCain’s 10-minute speech also makes a strong impression because it has all the hallmarks of ‘transcendent’ rhetoric—words that unite people, bridge divides, and elevate the public mood.
Not surprisingly, transformational leaders in history, politics, and business are long admired—and even go viral years later— because their words unite, heal and inspire.
Praise your opponent.
“A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama — to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love,” McCain began. “In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance.”
McCain could have ended his praise for Obama at that point, but he went on and commended him for inspiring millions of voters and for making history as the first African-American president.
“I deeply admire and commend him,” McCain added.
Appeal to better angels.
A remarkable thing happens in the first two minutes of McCain’s speech. Just 15 seconds into the speech, the audience breaks out into boos and jeers when McCain announces that he called Obama to concede the election. In the video, McCain raises both hands, shakes his head and says “please.”
He starts to speak again, but the boos continue. And that’s when McCain resorts to the look. You know the look—the one your parents gave you when you disappointed them. They didn’t need to back it with words. You know you did something bad. McCain’s audience gets the message.
The audience quiets down. What happens next is amazing. They listen silently as McCain celebrates the historic nature of the election and, two minutes after the speech began, the audience breaks out in applause in agreement with McCain’s words.
The strongest applause occurs just a few moments later when McCain appeals to the crowd’s better angels.
“I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our goodwill and earnest effort to find ways to come together…Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans.”
Reflect common narratives.
In a hyper-polarized environment, people take sides based on the story they share with their party or group. Words that transcend conflict remind everyone, regardless of party affiliation, that they share a common narrative.
McCain said, “I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties but to believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.”
McCain ends the speech with a rousing call to all Americans that the opinions that divide them are not as important as the qualities that bind them.
“Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.”
It’s worth recalling what historian Doris Kearns Goodwin said about the year 1861 when Abraham Lincoln entered the White House.
“The house was not merely divided; the house was on fire,” Goodwin writes in Leadership in Turbulent Times. Goodwin calls Lincoln a transformational leader as opposed to a ‘transactional’ leader who appeals to the self-interest of his followers.
A transformational leader “inspires followers to identify with something larger than themselves…Such leaders call for sacrifice in the pursuit or moral principles and higher goals, validating such altruism by looking beyond the present moment to frame a future worth striving for.”
Transcendent words don’t always succeed in alleviating conflict, but as far as language goes, it’s the best tool we have for rallying people behind a common purpose.