Portrait of John McCain
Center-right · Politician · From history

John McCain

US Senator from Arizona, 1987 to 2018

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A Navy pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war who became a hawkish Republican senator, the party’s 2008 presidential nominee and a champion of campaign finance reform.

John McCain sits in the right-authoritarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: leaning free market and slightly authoritarian. The clearest positions are strongly strength-first on war and peace, strongly interventionist on interventionism and strongly institutional on institutions.

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Where John McCain sits on ten dimensions

Each scale runs from one pole to the other, and the dot shows the overall tendency of this person's record and public life. These are simplified estimates and open to debate.

💰EconomyLeaning free market
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authoritySlightly authoritarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureLeaning traditional
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationSlightly nationalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentSlightly nature-first
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologyLeaning tech-optimist
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceStrongly strength-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsStrongly institutional
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionLeaning religious
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismStrongly interventionist
Non-interventionistInterventionist

People most like John McCain

Mitt Romney US Senator from Utah, 2019 to 202599%Liz Cheney US Representative from Wyoming, 2017 to 202399%Dwight D. Eisenhower US President, 1953 to 196198%José María Aznar Prime Minister of Spain, 1996 to 200498%Friedrich Merz Chancellor of Germany, 2025 to present98%Henry Kissinger US National Security Adviser and Secretary of State, 1923 to 202398%David Cameron UK Prime Minister, 2010 to 201697%Winston Churchill UK Prime Minister, 1940 to 1945 and 1951 to 195597%

People furthest from John McCain

Emma Goldman Russian-born anarchist and writer, 1869 to 19402%John Lennon British musician and peace activist, 1940 to 19802%Leo Tolstoy Russian novelist and moral thinker, 1828 to 19103%Rosa Luxemburg Polish-German revolutionary, 1871 to 19194%

Political views closest to John McCain

NeoconservatismPairs free markets and traditional values with an assertive, democracy-promoting foreign…98%Hawkish realismSees the world as a contest between states, where military strength and alliances secure…96%Liberal conservatismCombines free markets and limited government with respect for institutions, tradition…95%Realism in foreign policySees international politics as a contest of power and interests in which states act to…89%

Read more about John McCain

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Biographies of John McCainBooks on neoconservatism

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Percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions. Including a person here is for study and comparison, not approval. Portrait: United States Congress, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; see all photo credits.