John McCain is still angry . But soon , he 'll have power and an old enemy , President Barack Obama , is already in his sights . In the latest redemptive twist of a career of political and personal ups and downs , the Arizona Republican senator will take on one of the most weighty jobs in Congress when the new Republican majority rolls into town next month . As Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee , McCain will hold the White House to account for what he sees as a feckless foreign policy that has enabled `` genocide '' in Syria , left `` evil '' to fill a leadership vacuum elsewhere and splintered America 's moral example around the world . `` History judges people by what is accomplished or is not accomplished , whether there has been victory or defeat , that is the ultimate judgment , '' McCain said when asked by CNN to rate Obama 's record as a statesman . `` I think you could argue that the world is vastly changed and it certainly is not to the benefit of democracy , freedom or America 's role in the world . '' McCain 's new post is an unexpected coda for a turbulent life in which he was tortured as a Vietnam prisoner-of-war , emerged from a savings and loan scandal as a campaign finance champion and was a maverick who beat cancer and dubbed adoring reporters on his campaign bus his `` base . '' Now , from his perch on Armed Services , McCain will be back where he is happiest , where the political fight is at its most intense . He has a chance to reshape his own legacy , and ensure that the last word on his political career is not two losing presidential campaigns and his pick of running mate Sarah Palin , who critics blasted as unqualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency . Top Obama aides will soon find themselves trooping up to Capitol Hill for inquisitions before his committee . McCain is promising to use the power of the purse to force Obama 's hand on key issues including Ukraine and Syria . McCain also wants to end sequester budget cuts he says are stifling the military and cost overruns that plague the Pentagon 's procurement process . He 's planning to form a powerful triumvirate with Sen. Bob Corker , incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Sen. Richard Burr , the new head of the Intelligence Committee , to drive the foreign policy agenda . Confrontation . He 's planning to confront the White House on Syria , Ukraine , Iran nuclear talks , the struggle against ISIS and the President 's decision to establish diplomatic ties with communist Cuba . Republicans are also expected to use funding bills for government departments to constrain administration foreign policy in some areas and to target it in others , in effect daring Obama to veto wider bills that include elements he might oppose . In the six years since Obama beat him in the presidential race , McCain has been seething from the sidelines , prompting some to caricature him as an `` angry old man '' squandering a reputation for heroism and integrity . It 's been an odd kind of political purgatory , since it 's rare there 's a day he 's not on cable TV . McCain has also had some victories , helping torpedo Obama 's preferred pick for secretary of state , Susan Rice , and ridiculing White House political appointees for ambassadorial posts , including a soap opera producer dispatched to Hungary . OPINION : John McCain 's political comeback . But he has been unable to change the substance of Obama 's foreign policy . The President has ignored McCain 's calls for the United States to align much more closely with moderate rebels in the cauldron of Syria 's civil war . His hawkish recommendations on confronting Vladimir Putin have also gone unheard . His searing criticism did not stop Obama pulling out of Iraq , though Republicans claim vindication following the rise of ISIS . But McCain will come out of the wilderness in January . In the interview , he decried a `` vacuum created by the lack of American leadership which has been filled in by evil influences . '' `` Countries no longer believe in American leadership , so therefore , they are making their own accommodations , not only in the Middle East but also in what used to be eastern Europe , '' he said . It 's a worldview reflected on the walls of McCain 's Senate conference room , which features letters and photos from the likes of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher , leaders who drew firm ideological lines and did n't suffer critics gladly . At times , McCain 's moral outrage over Syria or Ukraine seems to burst out of him and contrasts with the cold-eyed realism of a President who believes he was elected to end wars , not to get into new quagmires . 'Immoral ' `` We are watching one of the great episodes of genocide certainly in our century , '' McCain said , when asked to assess Obama 's Syria policy . `` Two hundred thousand people dead , 3.5 million refugees , 150,000 still languishing in ( Syrian leader ) Bashar al-Assad 's prisons . '' He added : `` We have basically sat by and done very little ... what we are doing is not only unworkable , it 's immoral . '' Democrats see McCain as the embodiment of a Republican reflex to respond to every global problem with military force , which led America into misadventures like the war in Iraq . Some Obama aides also believe McCain never truly accepted his loss in 2008 , and see him as now more interested in political fireworks than serious legislating . Obama clearly had the likes of McCain on his mind when he mounted a defense of his foreign policy with CNN 's Candy Crowley on Sunday . `` There is this knee jerk sense on the part of some of the foreign policy establishment that shooting first and thinking about it second projects strength . I disagree with that , '' Obama said . Prospective Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul , fighting claims he is an isolationist , meanwhile said at a Wall Street Journal forum this month that McCain wants 15 more wars . In recent months , McCain 's fury has spilled out in committee hearing showdowns with top officials including Secretary of State John Kerry and his new deputy , Tony Blinken . `` It 's too bad you ca n't answer straightforward questions , Mr. Blinken , '' McCain said in an interrogation which angered allies of the popular White House official . McCain also lacerated Chuck Hagel , a fellow veteran of Vietnam and the Senate , who stumbled through a notorious confirmation hearing last year on the way to becoming Defense Secretary . People who know McCain are not at all shocked he 's still trading punches and not walking off into the Arizona sunset after a lifetime of service . He often notes that his father and grandfather died soon after retirement and does n't plan to make the same mistake . `` It does n't surprise me at all . He has always been someone to run to the sound of the guns , and be in the arena where important decisions are being made , '' said Richard Fontaine , who worked for McCain for five years as a foreign policy adviser . But at 78 , and uncertain whether Republicans can hold their majority in 2016 , there is a certain poignancy to McCain . 'Running out of time ' `` I 'm running out of time , '' he snapped last month , cutting off Kerry in a five minute Foreign Relations Committee Q & A , offering a metaphor for a career approaching its final act with much left to say and do . There 's also the question of his own Arizona Senate seat which tops the list for Tea Party insurgents looking for Republican scalps . McCain says he 's close to announcing a run for a sixth term in 2016 -- which would take him through to age 86 -- and expects a tough fight . Former NATO ambassador Kurt Volker , who now runs Arizona State University 's McCain Institute , says the senator is simply not done fighting . `` He has a strong sense of values and character , '' Volker said . `` His book 'Character is Destiny ' is all about how character determines a person and determines events . He continues to want to fight for what needs to be done . He is unrelenting . '' That streak of idealism underpins some of McCain 's most admired political achievements -- for example his role in normalizing diplomatic relations with Vietnam , which required an embrace of a nation which incarcerated him . It was on display again this month when , with the moral authority of a torture victim , he was a rare Republican to back a report outlining harsh interrogation methods . `` The truth is sometimes a hard pill to swallow , '' McCain said on the floor . `` It sometimes causes us difficulties at home and abroad . It is sometimes used by our enemies in attempts to hurt us . But the American people are entitled to it nonetheless . '' The speech won near universal praise , especially from liberals . `` Breathtaking , '' said Vice President Joe Biden . Daily Show host Jon Stewart quipped : `` Good McCain '' — `` I 've missed you so much . I did n't think I would ever see you again . '' McCain 's intervention was a reminder that for all his talk of history ultimately only crediting winners , he may be remembered as much for how he fought for his beliefs as what he achieved . Few people know McCain as well as Kerry , who endured another tongue lashing from his old sparring partner in November . `` I believe in John 's adage that a fight not joined is a fight not enjoyed , '' Kerry said .
McCain to challenge Obama foreign policy in new Senate race . Arizona governor views US foreign policy as immoral . Latest twist in a career of politics . McCain has chance to reshape his campaign in fall of 2008 .