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I didn't by any means agree with many of John McCain's policies, but he always did his best to be a good man. When he made mistakes, he owned up to them. He was courteous to his opponents, civil to those he disagreed with, and always put his country above his party. He left a final statement, which was read by a spokesman for the family and also published online. It's worth a read. Here's an excerpt:

"...I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world's greatest republic. A nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have acquired great wealth and power in the progress. We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been..."

Full statement here.