There's an excerpt from the previous paragraph that reads as follows, "At the funeral, Joe Willow’s family cried, and old Fannie even fainted at the grave site when they started to cover him. "
This excerpt suggests that he's currently mourning the death of his friend one last time to the point of unconsciousness, probably saying a lot to himself in the process in order to cope with the fact of his loss.
It depends on the politician and what they were discredited on. If it is a politician that is liked by people the then they are likely to get re-elected
