"My Friends"

John McCain is the only person I've ever heard of that used the phrase "my friends" when referring to those he's speaking to.
He uses that phrase pretty often too. Can't quite figure out why.
To me, it seems as though he's talking down to me.
Condescending is the word that comes to mind.
I'm pretty used to most people being smarter than I am, but usually they're bright enough to do a pretty good job of disguising it.

My friends, do you get what I'm driving at?