Sen. Lindsey Graham pays tribute to John McCain on Senate floor

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Sen. Graham delivers 'after-action report' on John McCain

Sen. Lindsey Graham remembers his late friend John McCain and says 'Operation Maverick' made the world a better place.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., paid an emotional tribute to the life and legacy of his close friend Sen. John McCain on the Senate floor Tuesday.

"He could be tough but the joy that you received from being with him will sustain you for a lifetime,”  Graham said. “And I am so lucky to have been in his presence.

McCain and Graham’s friendship dates back to the 1990s. The Arizona senator died at 81 Saturday, following a year-long battle with brain cancer.

"I do not cry for a perfect man," Graham said during his remarks. "I cry for a man who had honor and always was willing to admit to his imperfection."

He said McCain teased him all the time.

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"Humiliation and affection were constant companions,” Graham said. "The more he humiliated you, the more he liked you," the South Carolina senator said on the Senate floor— adding that he had plenty of humiliation.

"I am going to miss these dumb jokes," he said.

Graham said he remembers above all else the concession speech McCain gave the night he lost the presidency to Barrack Obama in 2008.

“John taught us how to lose," he said. “When you go throughout the world people remember his concession speech as much as anything else. There are so many countries where you can't afford to lose, 'cause they kill you."

He continued: “And John said that night ‘President Obama is now my president.’ So he healed the naton at a time he was hurt.”

Graham said he had fashioned his speech in the guise of a military “after action” report with the code name “Operation Maverick.”

FAREWELL STATEMENT FROM JOHN MCCAIN

On "Hannity" Monday night, Graham said his pal was not perfect.

"But good, decent, honorable is John McCain," he said.

And McCain loved his country, Graham said, adding, "he had a romantic view of the nation that never died."