this entire campaign i’ve been in awe of the fact that John MCCAIN is touting family values.. is claiming to be the candidate for “joe the plumber, joe six pack and sally hockey mom… is claiming to be the candidate who cares about women’s issues.. it’s hilarious. it would be even more hilarious if people weren’t buying it. I’ve never had negative feelings about Cindy McCain. I’ve always figured that underneath the politicking she’s probably the better person of the two.

Yes, Margo…I was able to read this with a “knowing smile” (as is every woman of a certain [see dating] age. At least once in her life a woman has bent over backwards to acommodate an emotionally distant man in the hopes of bridging the romantic gap between them. I stopped having sympathy for those women, however (myself included). HOW deeply in love can a woman be to continually allow herself to be mistreated, ad infinitum? And a woman with her own money (because we all know there are many unfortunate women who’ve trapped themselves into bad situations due to their lack of money)?! Money that her man is living well off of? Puleeze! Leave Woman: do it to make YOU happy, grateful and, with any luck, bring YOURSELF closer (TO yourself).

That Cindy McCain is a lonely, neglected, eager-to-please wife has been obvious from the way he’s treated her in public since the beginning of the campaign. She stands there, dutifully at his side, he rarely acknowledges her, or escorts her on and off a stage, or lends her a hand when they’re coming off a bus or a plane. He slobbers at the sound of Sarah Palin’s name, and told the whole world he considered his biggest moral failure in life was the way he ended his first marriage. How would you feel if your husband turned you into the woman who inspired this greatest “moral failure”? She’s a beautiful doormat, but he’s wiping his feet on her. I don’t need The New York Times to open my eyes on this one. In fact, I have to wonder what’s taken them so long. It’s so obvious.

Margo, great insight. I feel sorry for her, but for reasons that go far beyond what I think will be discussed and debated on this post. Cindy is that woman that we all know (and some may be themselves) who never “got it.” The type that never “got” that there are millions of men in America who they could conceivably be with. Single, intelligent, savvy, driven, sexy men that could cater to their sexual, emotional and intellectual needs. But instead of turning their attention to these men who are free to give them what they need and want, they look for men who are already taken. She knew when she met John McCain he was not free to be with her, but she didn’t care. She felt she could give him something his wife could not. We all know women like this. To fill a void in her marriage and possibly her life, she began to pour herself into philanthropic endeavors. She adopted a child in need and engaged in countless activities that would be perceived by the masses as beneficial. But none of this worked, because she developed a drug problem. There was a void in her life that needed to be filled that her family, friends, social activities and the like could not fill. All the while she stood by John’s side as he made his bids for the presidency. This time around he made it, he is the Republican nominee and she is now on a national stage for all the world to see. And what I see is a woman who does not look happy. The visual difference between the Obamas’ and the McCains’ transcends the race and age issues. The level of affection between the two couples is glaring….striking. Where Barack and Michelle embrace, smile freeing and exude a genuine level of love and respect for one another; John and Cindy seem distant and aloof. There is no warmth; there is no sense of their even acknowledging the other on a basic level. I have little sympathy for women who make life mistakes and “choose” not to learn from them. As much as I respect Hillary Clinton, I fault her for staying with Bill after all of his sexual dalliances were uncovered. She chose to stay because of career opportunities and that alone. No one can argue with me that a woman as intelligent as Hillary Clinton is, would knowingly stay with a man that has repeated betrayed her trust on the grounds of “I know you love me Bill and I know I can’t satisfy your sexual needs but I love you and even though you’re not 100% committed to me and our marriage, I will stay with you forever.” I don’t buy it. The same can be said about Cindy McCain. She is in a marriage that on some level is not giving her what she needs, she is not happy it is clear. When she speaks she reminds me of Elisabeth Hasselback, spewing all the words she was taught to say to rally the base, with this faint hint of “did I do good?” look on her face seeking approval. There is nothing more pathetic than a person that goes to their grave knowing they had not lived a genuine life. In the quiet of her home and in those moments of quiet introspection, she knows she is not living the life she envisioned, and that is sad.

I remember when I was a child, watching all those old movies, where the Big Shot always had a wife, and a mistress. The the ‘Trophy Wife’ became the race, that powerful men chose to run…in the stereotypical world, I would imagine that John McCain was merely following the trends of his time. And Cindy, the perfect victim, was also wrapped up in the trend where women were attracted to handsome, powerful, older men, who would ‘take care of her’ like daddy did… I can understand the phenomenon, although, I would never condone that sort of existence for myself. When I read about Cindy mcCain spending her time in Arizona whole mcCain spent his in Washington, two things came to mind: 1. She is a sensitive person, uncomfortable around the rigors and the hardball games played in Washington, and 2. If John mcCain were not a politician in Washington, there might have been a divorce, long ago.

I suppose everything is fodder for speculation when it comes to public figures. (sigh) But I believe that no one on the “outside” can know what affections may or may not be shared in a marriage. And perhaps that’s how it should be.

I am ashamed of whoever posted this. I am sure Cindy does not want your sympathy, and you should leave the wives out of the campaign. At least she isn’t on TV like Obama’s wife, who subjected viewers to hours of stories and character referrences about what a great mom and wife she is, as if that will have any influence whatsoever on whether or not I vote for her husband. I didn’t see any of these people talking about how great he was. Cindy McCain has a right to choose to support her husband, and she may not see it as seeking his affection or being neglected. Cut the crap people, and let’s vote on tax plans and medical reform, not on whether or not a candidates wife is lonely or a popular person. And Michelle, get off my TV!