I do not like Cindy McCain.
She may be a perfectly nice person , a wonderful person. She might even make a super First Lady.
But I'm free (at least for the moment,barring any Neocon insanity to take away more of our basic rights) to say that she makes my B.S. radar go "BING" and there's something about her super groomed, not an eyebrow much less perfectly bleached to one yellow shade hair out of place that makes me uncomfortable.
Plus, she looks like she lives on about 800 calories a day.
To me, admittedly imperfect and somewhat b*tchily brazen hussy that I am, she seems cold, brittle.
This is not an ad hominem attack. It's a fact, an observation.
I don't trust her on an visceral level and, I think I mentioned, I just plain instinctually don't like her.
All that aside, I have to agree with her.
She doesn't have to release her tax records. She's a gazillionairess and there's no doubt that if she did release them, there would be so many details and investments hither and thither she would be open to all sorts of critiques -- including unfair blitherings by those both politically opposed to her husband's presidential run and those who are just plain jealous.
And she's not running for prez; her ghastly pale, hot tempered, much older husband is.
Oh, I forgot, Mrs.McCain just announced to the Today Show that John does NOT have a temper. Uh-huh.
All those folks, including Republicans, he's scared the socks off of with his screaming tirades, are liars.
And those reporters who heard ol' John lash out at his wife and call her a "c*unt" ( rhymes with "stunt") for teasing him about his thinning hair -- well, they were mistaken. McCain really just called her a ... um.. runt.. yeah, that's the ticket.
Back to Cindy and the "C" word.But not THAT "c" word that her hubby is so fond of, the c-for-character word.
Here's the deal: Lots of people have goings-on in their personal lives that are absolutely nobody's business. I for one think Bill Clinton had the right to fool around and have sex with anybody he wanted to, married or not ( but I would hope that he didn't lie to his wife and they had an open marriage.). What ticked me off about the Lewinsky mess was that Clinton was screwing around in the Oval Office.. he worked for me, and you, and that's not appropriate on-the-job behavior. And then he lied about said behavior under oath. You break the law and there should be consequences.
Now lots of people have drug problems in their lives, get help, get better. Which brings me back to Mrs. McCain who, in softball to-the-point-of-nauseating interviews, is made out to be a heroine of sorts who faced up to her drug addiction problem several years ago and her husband -- who, by the way, somehow never noticed she was strung out on painkillers -- is constantly quoted as saying he is sooooo proud of her. And then she segues, saint-like, into her "charity" work.
Let's get the facts straight. Mother Teresa, she's not.
Cindy McCain SET UP A CHARITY from which she pilfered drugs.
She had the money, opportunity and assets to get all the help, quietly and privately, that she need to get off drugs. Instead, she was an addict until she was busted by a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation in l994 and about to get her skinny butt thrown in jail but, of course, she being rich and having a politico husband -- as opposed to being some welfare mom in the ghetto -- avoided prosecution.
Instead, she had to serve food in a soup kitchen for a while and join Narcotics Anonymous. Oh, and close that "charity" she had founded from which she so handily pilfered her fixes.
"Cindy faced up to her addiction," Sen. McCain said.
Uh, well, yeah.. when she was faced with an easy out or a jail term.
So does all this make her a bad person? I don't claim to be the arbiter of "good" and "bad" people but , call me old-fashioned, I want my country to have leaders -- including the First Lady -- who are not necessarily perfect but have demonstrated they have character and judgment. I want them to be worth looking up to.
Cindy McCain and John McCain are not a couple who can sit in the White House as examples of the best of America. And it's not about tax returns and tempers.. it's the totality of all we know about their past lives .
It adds up. It does matter.
The past may not predict the future all the time, but it sure as heck gives you a good idea of what people are truly made of... and what they are lacking.
Again, I'm talking about the c word. Character. It does matter, still, at least to some of us.
©2008 Sherry Baker, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work.
Published: Saturday, May 10, 2008
Last modified: Saturday, May 10, 2008
The views expressed in this article are those of Sherry Baker only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Sherry Baker is solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
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Reader Comments:
Posted By: Lloyd Kempson
Date: 2008-05-10 14:31:21
"Let's get the facts straight. Mother Teresa, she's not."
Oh thank Flying Spaghetti Monster for that! Mother Teresa set up "hospitals" that did nothing but allow suffering and death because she believed that was what "god" had wanted her to do. If anyone is a cvnt it is her and not Mrs. McCain.
You have been nothing but an a$$hole to the McCains. You call yourself a libertarian, but why the fnck does drug adiction matter? These people are playing the George W. Bush method of not going on the attack against your opponent's past. What gives you the right to blast Mrs. McCain's character?
You are the best example of why libertarianism makes itself look silly to the mainstreamers. If you oppose the war on drugs, shouldn't you refrain from attacking someone who has battled an addiction? You discust me, and I am a bisexual male atheist that has swinger parties at my own house. I am not holier-than-thou by any means. What you have commited here is just that. Hypocracy and malice towards the McCains.
Posted By: Sher
Date: 2008-05-10 14:35:32
Lloyd, dear,
I think people have a right to do drugs but puhleaze may they spare me the holier-than-thou attitude when they are caught. When I think of the folks in jail right now for smoking weed and Cindy McCain wears her drug past like a medal, it makes me want to hurl.
You missed the point but that's ok.
I do have one word for you: spellcheck.
Ciao,
s
Posted By: Lloyd Kempson
Date: 2008-05-10 14:44:07
Haver you ever considered how big a skeptic that John McCain is? He is a real Centrist and he might actually help lead to the decriminalization of Marijuana. If there is anyone that you should blame for canibis and drugs being illegal, go out and look at those buildings with the little steeples and a cross on them. The McCains are politicians they have to win first. They can't go and announce thier opposition to the war on drugs if they want to get elected, look at Ron Paul.
Posted By: Kipper Mathews
Date: 2008-05-10 17:05:47
Good article.... Keep up the good work.
John and Cindy both have so many skeletons in their closet they don't have room for dust balls.
Just ignore Lloyd, he gets his jollies by adversely commenting on every article. If you want to see where he is coming from, read one of his "interesting " articles.
Posted By: Mike Stahl
Date: 2008-05-11 21:51:43
Lloyd,
I agree, Hypocracy must be avoided at all costs, I'm with you in discust.....though I'll plan no bisexual atheist parties at my own home-swinging, yes, but no bisexual atheists permitted.
Honestly, these are politicians, and deserve every bit of criticism that comes their way, and more. Nice article.
Posted By: Doug
Date: 2008-07-22 05:40:41
I like your blunt opening statement. Even the most sainthood-worthy person in the world has someone they don't like.
I agree - it's not the individual acts of improper behavior that matter - it's the point to which a person can own up to their improprieties. Clinton p*ssed me off too - but he was also the victim of out-of-control 90s sensationalism, attacked savagely by self-righteous "sin-seekers" and a media that couldn't handle the pain of withdrawal after OJ was free and Diana was dead.
I do admire the Clinton family's complete avoidance of self-exploitation during and after the Monica scandal, because I do think they did a good job of shielding their daughter Chelsea from the sting of public scrutiny. And I don't recall any of the Clintons using past personal crises as a net to gather sympathy - Chelsea earned my admiration when she basically told a reporter to "stuff it" when, while campaigning for her mother, she was asked about her father's past infidelity. No child should have to talk about their parents' sex lives.
As far as details - McCain's use of the "c" word doesn't bother me much - perhaps it was an accidental on-record slip into a behind-the-scenes kinky-yet-playful tradition of spousal dirty-word foreplay.
The problem is, like you said, all the whitewashing - and I'm not talking about John McCain's ghastly white visage. To me, there's nothing heroic about wearing a "recovered addict" patch on your sleeve for years and years. We all have skeletons in our closets - some of us having many closets. But one of the best signs of good character and judgment, in my opinion, is to leave those skeletons behind. Admit that you have them, but move on, and don't use them as heartstrings to be tugged on forever.
In religion and faith of all kinds, the truly faithful are the ones that don't mention their faith - they hold it personally and don't use it as a way to boost themselves above others, and judge only themselves. The same goes for politicians, in my mind - integrity is not showing off your past record of deeds; true integrity is never looking back, and proving your worthiness through what you do NOW and by earning pats on your back in the future, not asking for them.
Posted By: Emily
Date: 2008-08-28 12:17:14
Just one comment, not sure why you bothered to put an asterisk in the word "c*unt". Wow, I mean, you actually spelled out one of the most offensive words in the English language and then attempted to write an article about "character"? Unfortunately, I had a hard time focusing on anything else you mentioned because of, what I force myself assume was an error in typing. No need to mention that it rhymes with "stunt" when you, in fact, write the word out in full, hopefully your readers have learned the pattern of rhyming by now. Perhaps you meant "c*nt"? It's a shame, I wonder what your article was supposed to be about.
Can you blame me for the distraction? If I got up on my soap box in front of all of you to preach historical preservation of the Arlington cemetery's Tomb of the Unknown and my breasts and nipples were popping out of my shirt, would it even matter after that what my point was? To me it becomes a point of a failed delivery, which is just as important as the message, if you really think about it. Without proper delivery, is anyone really listening?
Posted By: Sher
Date: 2008-08-28 12:27:50
Hi Emily,
Uh, yeah. People apparently were listening, or reading. This was the number one story on the Nolan Chart for some time. And the whole POINT of mentioning the C word was that it is in context with the rest of the tale of the hypocritical morality platitude spouting McCains. I think few of us are such peanut brains that we can't hear or see the C-rhymes-with-stunt word ( uh, dear, that is called using HUMOR) without our minds turning to mush with visions of said anatomical part. Jeez, the point is ol' John and skinny minny Cindy are HYPOCRITES and have a character problem. And, yes, I am quite capable of listening to most anything even if there is -- gasp -- nudity or nipples or whatever around . This isn't Victorian England or something. Again, that's not he point. Character, or rather a lack of, is the point of the column.
Sher
Posted By: John Howell
Date: 2008-08-30 07:43:30
There's another c word related to McCain that anyone who respects women and abhors domestic violence should be concerned about. That's a word that comes from a quote from McCain that appeared on the Huffington Post a few months ago that incredibly got no notice in the mainstream media. McCain was in a public appearance with Cindy. She kidded him about his hair loss. He called her a cunt.
When I emailed a friend of mine about the choice for VP, she replied, "I wonder if he'll call (Palin) a cunt?
In my previous career I had a lot of exposure to men who abuse children and batter women. The ony men I've ever heard use this term on the women they love, especially to their face, fit this profile.