If the Democratic Party really admires “mavericks” so much—why don’t they have one?

Since a brain tumor claimed Sen. John McCain’s life, Democrats have been effusive in their praise of his “maverick” style of politics. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called him one of the “few truly great people….a truth teller, never afraid to speak truth to power in an era where that has become all too rare.”

Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi said “America is in tears over the loss of a great man.” Hillary Clinton praised him for his “example of working across the aisle,” while former President Barack Obama urged grieving Americans to “aspire to the courage to put the greater good above our own.”

If we’ve learned anything this week, it’s that America’s Democrats loved John McCain. So why don’t any of them want to be him?