Cindy McCain speaks to crowd in Philadelphia on October 20, 2008 - Part 1 Filmed by Chris Barrett Philadelphia, PA Constitution Center
Cindy Lou Hensley McCain (born May 20, 1954[3]) is an American businessperson and philanthropist, and the wife of United States Senator and 2000 and 2008 presidential candidate John McCain of Arizona. She is chair of Hensley & Co.,[4][5] founded by her father and one of the largest Anheuser-Busch beer distributors in the United States.[6]
She founded and ran a non-profit organization, the American Voluntary Medical Team, from 1988 to 1995 that organized trips by medical personnel to disaster-struck or war-torn third-world areas. She continues to be an active philanthropist and serves on the boards of several charitable organizations.
She has been active and visible in her husband's presidential campaign during 2007 and 2008,[16] returning to Arizona frequently to attend to domestic duties[50] and interrupting campaigning for her overseas charitable work.[19][54] She has preferred to travel with her husband and introduce him, rather than act as a campaign surrogate with a separate schedule.[58][32] In August 2008, a member of the public shook her hand very vigorously, aggravating her existing carpal tunnel syndrome condition and causing her to slightly sprain her wrist.[59]
McCain has stated that the American public wants a First Lady of the United States who will tend toward a traditional role in that position.[60] She would not attend Cabinet meetings,[50] but would continue her involvement in overseas non-profit organizations and would urge Americans to do the same globally or locally;[50] she envisions herself as a possible figurehead for humanitarian work, along the lines of Diana, Princess of Wales.[61]
Visiting President Bush at the White House on March 5, 2008
Visiting President Bush at the White House on March 5, 2008
She made statements critical of the Bush administration for not deploying enough troops during the Iraq War,[16] and was an internal critic within the McCain campaign of its profligate spending during the first part of 2007.[19] In February 2008, McCain made news by being critical of Michelle Obama, the wife of Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama, who had said, 'And let me tell you something: For the first time in my adult lifetime I am really proud of my country.' McCain replied: 'I am proud of my country. I don't know about you—if you heard those words earlier—I am very proud of my country.'[62] Also in February 2008, she publicly appeared beside her husband during a press conference in response to a newspaper report regarding his connection to a lobbyist.[63]
McCain has faced media scrutiny about her wealth, spending habits, and financial obligations.[57][64][65] At first declining to release her separate income tax returns, saying it was a privacy issue and that she would not do so even if she became First Lady,[66] she later released the first two pages of her 2006 return, which showed $6 million in income for that year (including nearly $570,000 in itemized deductions and more than $1.7 million paid in federal income taxes).[67] The campaign has said that any decisions about how to handle her role in Hensley & Co. if she becomes First Lady would not be made until that time.[48] While she would gain a considerable profit from the agreed-upon acquisition of Anheuser-Busch by the Belgian company InBev,[52][68] she was initially under some political pressure to help oppose the deal and keep Anheuser-Busch under American ownership.[69]
Cindy McCain speaks at the 2008 Republican National Convention.
Cindy McCain speaks at the 2008 Republican National Convention.
In June 2008, a Rasmussen Reports poll found that 49 percent of voters viewed Cindy McCain favorably and 29 percent unfavorably,[70] while an ABC News/Washington Post poll found figures of 39 percent and 25 percent respectively.[71] Her style and fashion sense have been the subject of much media scrutiny.[72][73] McCain has been compared to former first lady Nancy Reagan,[72] due to both her style and wardrobe[74][75] as well as demeanor.[76] Early in the campaign, some recipes attributed to Cindy McCain turned out to be copied from other sources;[77][78] the campaign attributed the problem to an error by an intern.[77]
Cindy McCain spoke on both the opening and final nights of the 2008 Republican National Convention in early September 2008. On the first night, truncated due to national attention regarding Hurricane Gustav, she appeared with First Lady Laura Bush to deliver short remarks encouraging support for hurricane relief efforts along the Gulf Coast,[79] and on the last night she introduced the seven McCain children and spoke about how her husband's love for his country had been passed on to them.[80] In October 2008, she increased the intensity of her public remarks against Obama's candidacy.[81]
