Family Forum / Marriage / Marriage / October 2007

I suppose a great deal of my undestanding stems from those that take
their religious values serious; living by example.  Mitt's a morman.
Those morman's I've encountered over my life have been strong social
contributors; with family values beyond reproach.

Add in Jimmy Carter too, I think.

Really?
Family Problems
McCain has a reputation as a politician who has difficulty keeping his pants
zipped, according to Republican sources. He acknowledges that his adultery
broke up his first marriage. His second wife Cindy, the daughter of a
wealthy Budweiser beer distributor, was addicted to prescription narcotics
and even stole hard drugs from a medical charity that she ran. McCain
acknowledges that she didn't want him to run, and only agreed once he
promised that she doesn't have to go to New Hampshire or Iowa.

The website address:  http://www.realchange.org/mccain.htm#wife

McCain lives with his wife Cindy Hensley McCain in Phoenix. She is the chair
of the large Anheuser-Busch beer and liquor distributor Hensley & Company,
founded by her father.[95][96] In August 1994, Cindy McCain admitted that
she had been addicted to painkillers and said that she hoped it would give
other drug addicts courage in their struggles.[97] Cindy suffered a stroke
in April 2004 due to high blood pressure, but appears to have made a full
recovery.[98]

In 1979, McCain was living with his first wife Carol Shepp when he met
Cindy. Her wealth and looks led to news reports that "Mr. McCain abandoned
his wife, who had reared their three children while he was in a prison in
Vietnam, and he then began his political career with the resources of his
new wife's family." [99]. He has since reconciled with his first wife and
their children.

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain

Wasn't your current wife formerly married?  Perhaps I have you mixed up with
someone else.  Having never been married seems to be a high priority for
you.  Perhaps I'm "misinterpretating" you?

, 4

The stat that I just read said 7 children.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/22/politics/main3193619.shtml

he's smart, stable and been tested to handle stress; a history

And some more information that you can look up on Wikipedia:

Chelsea Clinton joke
In 1998, McCain was chastised for reportedly making an off-color joke at a
Republican fundraiser about President Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, saying
"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno."[66]
McCain later apologized to President Clinton and Clinton accepted his
apology.[66]

[edit] Use of offensive term
McCain openly used the term "gook", a racial slur generally used to describe
people from Vietnam, in reference to his captors during the Vietnam War.
During the 2000 Presidential Campaign, he repeatedly refused to apologize
for his continued use of the term, stating that he reserved its reference
only to his captors.[67] Late in the primary season, with growing criticism
from the Asian American community in the politically important state of
California, McCain reversed his position, and vowed to no longer use the
term in public.[68]

[edit] Claims about Iraq safety
On March 28, 2007, McCain claimed that "General Petraeus goes out [in
Baghdad] almost every day in an unarmed humvee".[69] On March 29, CNN's John
Roberts revealed the results of his investigation into this claim, "I
checked with General Petraeus's people overnight and they said he never goes
out in anything less than an up-armored humvee."[70] On the same day, McCain
also claimed that "There are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could
walk through those neighborhoods, today... The US is beginning to succeed in
Iraq."[71] Barry McCaffrey, on the same day, issued a report saying, "... no
Iraqi government official, coalition soldier, diplomat, reporter could walk
the streets of Baghdad without heavily armed protection".[72]

On April 1, 2007, McCain and other lawmakers visited a Baghdad market and
claimed that "things are better and there are encouraging signs".[73]
However, the visit was accompanied by enormous security measures, as McCain
wore a bullet-proof vest, and was surrounded by more than 100 troops and
escorted by attack helicopters.[74] The day after McCain's visit, 21 workers
and children from the market were murdered.[75]

[edit] Song about bombing Iran
During a campaign appearance in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina on April 18,
McCain was asked a question about possible military action against Iran. He
responded by singing "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" to the meldoy of the
Beach Boys' song Barbara Ann, reminiscent of a 1980 parody by Vince Vance &
The Valiants.[76][77] When later confronted about the matter, McCain stated,
"My response is lighten up, and get a life." Asked whether the joke he made
was insensitive, McCain retorted, "Insensitive to what? The Iranians?"[78]

[edit] Joke about improvised explosive device (IED)
During a taping of The Daily Show on April 24, 2007, Jon Stewart asked
McCain, "What do you want to start with, the bomb Iran song or the walk
through the market in Baghdad?" McCain responded by saying,"I think maybe
shopping in Baghdad...I had something picked out for you, too - a little IED
to put on your desk." On April 25, 2007, representative John Murtha demanded
an apology from McCain on the floor of the House, where Murtha said that to
make jokes about bringing IEDs back for comedians was unconscionable when so
many soldiers are dying from IEDs in Iraq.[79] McCain responded by telling
Murtha and other critics to "Lighten up and get a life." [80]

[edit] Cursing at Senator John Cornyn
On May 18, 2007 McCain cursed at fellow Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas):
"During a meeting Thursday on immigration legislation, McCain and Sen. John
Cornyn (R-Texas) got into a shouting match when Cornyn started voicing
concerns about the number of judicial appeals that illegal immigrants could
receive, according to multiple sources -- both Democrats and Republicans --  
who heard firsthand accounts of the exchange from lawmakers who were in the
room. '[Expletive] you! I know more about this than anyone else in the
room.'"[81] The comments occurred after Cornyn told McCain, "Wait a second
here. I've been sitting in here for all of these negotiations and you just
parachute in here on the last day. You're out of line."[81]

Smart, stable and patient?  And his wife, which one are you referring to who
is a "contributor to social issues"?  The one he dumped while she waited for
his return from Viet Nam or the one who is a chair person at a beer and
liquor company that was founded by her father?  Would you mind addressing
the specific social issues?  I googled it and couldn't find anything other
than this:

[edit] Early life
McCain grew up in Arizona, the daughter of James and Marguerite Hensley, who
founded Hensley & Company,[4] one of the largest Anheuser-Busch distributors
in the nation.[2] She attended Madison Meadows Elementary and Central High
School in Phoenix.

McCain received her undergraduate degree in Education and a masters in
Special Education from the University of Southern California.[3] After
graduating from USC, she began her teaching career at Agua Fria High School
in Avondale, Arizona.

[edit] Family and personal life
In 1980, she married John McCain, a divorced war hero almost 20 years her
senior, who at the time was the U.S. Navy liaison officer to the United
States Senate. Then-Sen. Bill Cohen, R-Maine, was his best man; then-Sen.
Gary Hart, D-Colo., was a groomsman. Two years later, John McCain was
elected to the House; four years after that, he joined Cohen and Hart in the
Senate.

She is the mother of four children: Meghan, John IV (Jack), James (Jimmy),
and Bridget. She is step-mother to the three children from John McCain's
first marriage, Doug, Andy and Sidney. McCain's son James enlisted in the
Marine Corps in 2006, and began recruit training in September 2006.[5]

In 1988, Cindy McCain founded the Arizona Voluntary Medical Team, or AVMT, a
non-profit organization that organized trips for doctors and nurses to
third-world countries where disaster had struck -- Micronesia, Nicaragua,
Bangladesh and El Salvador. While at Mother Teresa's orphanage in
Bangladesh, Cindy met two young girls that she decided needed to be brought
to the US for medical treatment. She decided to adopt one of the young
girls, Bridget and helped coordinate the adoption of the other little girl
named Mickey for Wes Gullett, a family friend.[citation needed]

McCain suffered a stroke in April 2004 due to high blood pressure, but
appears to have made a full recovery.[6]

[edit] Substance abuse
In August 1994, Cindy McCain admitted that she had been a drug addict to
painkillers such as Percocet and Vicodin since 1989. She resorted to
stealing drugs from a nonprofit medical relief charity, the American
Voluntary Medical Team. When Cindy McCain publicly revealed her addiction,
years after she had proclaimed sobriety, and after county investigative
materials were made public, she stated she hoped it would give fellow drug
addicts courage in their struggles. She later issued a statement: "Although
my conduct did not result in compromising any missions of AMVT (her charity
organization), my actions were wrong, and I regret them,". A few weeks
later, the Variety Club of Arizona had to cancel its Humanitarian of the
Year Award dinner in her honor because of poor ticket sales.[7] Her
activities also violated federal statutes, so a federal investigation was
also performed. McCain's defense team secured an agreement with the U.S.
Attorney's office that was limited to financial restitution and treatment
for her drug addiction. At the time, legal experts told the Phoenix New
Times that had she not been married to John, she likely would have been
sentenced to federal prison. Tom Gosinski, the director of government and
international affairs for the American Voluntary Medical Team, who tipped
off the DEA to investigate Cindy's drug theft, also accused Cindy of asking
him to lie concerning her drug use when the McCains were applying to adopt a
baby from Bangladesh. [8] [9]

[edit] References
 1.. ^ "About Us: Our People", Hensley & Company website, URL last accessed
November 14, 2006.
 2.. ^ a b "Hensley & Company company profile", Yahoo! Finance, URL last
accessed November 14, 2006.
 3.. ^ a b "CARE Board Member Biography: Cindy Hensley McCain", CARE
website, URL last accessed November 14, 2006.
 4.. ^ "Sen. John McCain's Mother-In-Law Dies", The Washington Post,
October 22, 2006 (URL last accessed November 14, 2006).
 5.. ^ "Sen. McCain's youngest son joins Marine Corps", Marine Corps Times,
July 31, 2006 (URL last accessed November 14, 2006).
 6.. ^ Villa, Judi, "Cindy McCain goes home; full recovery is expected",
The Arizona Republic, April 17, 2004.
 7.. ^ Tapper, Jake, "I'm not Hillary", Salon.com, July 2, 1999 (URL last
accessed April 4, 2007).
 8.. ^ Silverman, Amy, "How Cindy McCain was outed for drug addiction",
Salon.com, October 18, 1999 (URL last accessed September 15, 2007).
 9.. ^ Nowicki, Dan, "Overcoming scandal, moving on", azrepublic.com, March
1, 2007 (URL last accessed October 19, 2007).
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Hensley_McCain"

Thanks!

No... thank God.  My father is a terrific grandfather.  He loves my
children very much and they love him.  He plays with them, tells them
he loves them.  He truly is wonderful.  I've never been fortunate to
have that kind of relationship with him.  But going back to what I
said, my mother is like that character, especially with how she
interacts with my former wife and my current girlfriend.  Perhaps
she's not as bad, but close. LOL!

--Brian

No... thank God.  My father is a terrific grandfather.  He loves my
children very much and they love him.  He plays with them, tells them
he loves them.  He truly is wonderful.  I've never been fortunate to
have that kind of relationship with him.  But going back to what I
said, my mother is like that character, especially with how she
interacts with my former wife and my current girlfriend.  Perhaps
she's not as bad, but close. LOL!

--Brian