what mccain is talking about, here, is propaganda.

but, he's right.

america's hegemony relies on it's perception as the good cop. it's always been bullshit. but, it's imperative that the myth be upheld, or the empire will fall apart.

i'll fill in the blanks that mccain was afraid to even type lest somebody piece together the implication: if by "realism", you mean the idea that america can rule the world by threatening and bullying other nations into doing what it wants, then that is a perversion of the concept of reality: that is the world that you wish existed, not the one that actually exists.

in the world that actually exists, america is only as powerful as it's reputation.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/opinion/john-mccain-rex-tillerson-human-rights.html