The nation honors Sen. John McCain

Former Vice President Joe Biden, who served in the US Senate alongside John McCain, said the late senator mourned how bipartisanship had faded over the years.

"We both loved the Senate," Biden said. "We both lamented, watching it change."

Biden and McCain used to sit next to each other during long debates in the 1980's and '90s. In 1996, they were each told independently by their parties that their visible friendship didn't look good.

"That's when things began to change for the worse in America in the Senate. That's when it changed," Biden said.

The former vice president recalled how things used to be in the Senate — and lamented how attacks became more personal and partisan.

"It was always appropriate to challenge another senator's judgment, but never appropriate to challenge their motive. When you challenge their motive, it's impossible to get to go," he said.

Biden's remarks were similar to McCain's speech on the Senate floor last summer, in which he begged his colleagues to restore the chamber to a spirit of compromise that had helped forge national greatness.

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