Obama, Bush eulogize former political foe John McCain

Former U.S. presidents BarackObama and George W. Bush, once rivals of the late Senator JohnMcCain, praised him in eulogies on Saturday and joined hisdaughter at a memorial service in subtle and not-so-subtlerebukes of President Donald Trump.

Obama and Bush, a Democrat and a Republican, were joinedby a collection of former U.S. presidents, senators, Vietnam-eraofficials and others paying tribute to the statesmanwho diedAug. 25 of brain cancer, days shy of his82ndbirthday.

Trump himself was absent, but hispresence was felt through the content of the tributes.

MeghanMcCain condemned the president in remarks that at times drewapplause and came after she said her dad told her to "show themhow tough you are" with her eulogy.

"We gather here to mourn the passing of American greatness,the real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never comenear the sacrifice he gave so willingly, nor the opportunisticappropriation of those who live lives of comfort and privilegewhile he suffered and served," she said, speaking forcefullyand, at times, through tears.

Watch as MeghanMcCaintearfully recalls her father's legacy:

Meghan McCain recalls her father's 'fire' at funeral service

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Meghan McCain gave a tearful tribute to the late U.S. senator, outlining her fathers legacy of sacrifice.

Taking aim at Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America GreatAgain," she said McCain's America was always great.

Trump had engaged in a public feud withMcCain,a fellow Republican, over the past three years. Hemocked McCain's military service, continuing to knock him even after he grewill.

McCain 'could not abide bigots and swaggering despots'

Trump spent Saturday tweeting on othersubjects and went to one of his private golf clubs in Virginia.

By design. McCainhad asked Obama and Bush to deliver eulogies, while the family made clear that Trump was not welcome.

Obama, who beat McCain in the 2008 U.S. presidentialelection, hailed the one-time prisoner of war for his commitment to truth and core democratic valuesqualities that some criticssee lacking in Trump, a former reality television star and NewYork City real estate mogul.

"So much of our politics, our public life, our publicdiscourse can seem small and mean and petty, trafficking inbombast and insult, and phoney controversies, and manufacturedoutrage," Obama said.

"It's a politics that pretends to be brave and tough, but in fact is born in fear. John called on us to bebigger than that. He called on us to be better than that."

Watch as Barack Obama recalls getting a phone call from JohnMcCain, asking him to deliver a eulogy:

Barack Obama recalls John McCain's 'mischievous streak'

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Former U.S. president talks about getting a call from McCain himself with eulogy request.

Obama also noted McCain's support for a free press. Trumphas repeatedly called the media the "enemy of the Americanpeople."

Bush, in his eulogy, described McCain as a man with a code.

"He loved freedom with a passion of a man who knew itsabsence. He respected the dignity inherent in every life, a dignity that does not stop at borders and cannot be erased bydictators," Bush said. "Perhaps above all, John detested theabuse of power. He could not abide bigots and swaggeringdespots."

Trump has sought to forge relationships with NorthKorean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Watch as George W. Bush remembers JohnMcCain'shonesty and virtues:

George W. Bush remembers John McCain as 'a man with a code'

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Duration 1:08

Former U.S. president recalls the late senator's honesty and virtues at funeral service.

The former U.S. presidents joked about McCain'simperfections, while saying he made them better leaders. Their presence as eulogists was a clear signal from McCain of hisdesire for more civility and bipartisanship in Washington.

The senator's body, which had lain in state at the U.S.Capitol, arrived at the cathedral with a motorcade that first stopped at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. There his wife, CindyMcCain, laid a wreath to honour those who died in the war.

Uniformed members of the military slowly carried the coffininto the soaring cathedral and back out again after the 2-1/2-hour service.

Top members of Trump's administration, including hisdaughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, attended, as did White House chief of staff John Kelly and national securityadviser John Bolton.

Other guests included former president Bill Clinton andformer secretary of state Hillary Clinton, former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, comedian Jay Leno, and formersenators Bob Dole and John Kerry.

A powerful pipe organ and Navy brass ensemble played duringthe service and renowned opera singer Renee Fleming sang astirring rendition of Danny Boy,drawing tears from CindyMcCain and others in the audience.

Stoic after wartime suffering

John McCain was a leading voice for revamping the country'simmigration, campaign finance and environmental laws. But it washis military service, punctuated by years as a prisoner of warin North Vietnam, that moulded his political life.

Rising to the rank of captain in the U.S. Navy, he was shotdown over Hanoi while on a bombing mission in 1967. Held as aprisoner until 1973, he was tortured by his North Vietnamesecaptors in a jail that Americans dubbed the "Hanoi Hilton."

As a presidential candidate, Trump mocked McCain for getting captured in Vietnam. Trump himself received five deferments that got him out of serving in the military.

On Sunday McCain will be buried during a private service inAnnapolis, Md., at the U.S. Naval Academy. McCain was a member of the Academy's Class of 1958.

'He put everybody first'

On Friday, while lying in state, McCain was commemorated by politicians of all stripes and by mourners who filed past his flag-draped coffin into the night.

On Thursday, people lined a street in Phoenix as the motorcade carrying McCain's coffin arrived at North Phoenix Baptist Church. Shane Doan, a Canadian who's retired from playing in the NHL for 21 years, served as a pallbearer. The former Arizona Coyotes captain was friends withMcCainfor about 10 years.

When asked by CBCNews on Saturday how people should remember McCain, he said:"That he put everybody first, that he was all about service, that the parties and the politics and all the things that people remember about him, it really came down to him wanting to put the country and the people first."

"He enjoyed life almost more than anyone I know," said Doan. "Yet, he was a guy who was capable of discussing the constitutional democracy of Guam, and then the next second he'd be talking about two blackhawks he has nesting in the valley by his home."

With files from CBCNews