Cindy McCain Has Another Forgotten Half-Sister

Washington Post:

When Cindy McCain talks about growing up, she usually refers to herself as an "only child" -- a phrase that ignores the existence of her half sisters.

"It's terribly painful," Kathleen Hensley Portalski said yesterday. "It is as if she is the 'real' daughter. I am also a real daughter."

Portalski and McCain are both children of the late Jim Hensley, the Arizona businessman who founded one of the largest beer distributorships in the nation. Kathleen, 65, is the product of Hensley's first marriage in the 1930s to Mary Jeanne Parks. Hensley divorced Parks for Marguerite "Smitty" Johnson, whom he met at a West Virginia hospital in World War II and married in 1945. Cindy was born nine years later.

...

But there's more: Cindy McCain has another half sister. Before her marriage to Hensley, Johnson had a daughter, Dixie Burd, by a previous relationship. Burd, who is much older than Cindy, could not be reached for comment.

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[DC]

Imagine Cindy McCain representing you as our First Lady. Think about it.

[starfire426]

And this woman had the unmitigated gall to question Mrs. Obama's love of this country??? What a complete hypocrite she is!!! She won't even acknowledge her own kinsmen!!! The ice princess once again gives us a glimpse into her inner soul...or does she even have one?

[notthistime]

no. otherwise she would not walk away with a man who abandons his wife and children.

[txgal44]

Take a really good look at her. That woman has misery written all over her. No wonder why!

[BobSF94117]

It's not surprising that someone of that generation would have nothing to do with daddy's "other family", but to cut off what daddy was giving to them upon his death is really cold. To do it when you have hundreds of millions is damn cold. They don't call them "blue bloods" for nothin'.

[honeydiva]

oooo crypt keeper and crypt keeper's wife look alike...eerie

[helonias]

McCain calls everyone my friend but look how Cindy treats her blood relations.

That tells me all I need to know about them.

[Anastasia]

As I see it, the problem with this kind of story, is that it encourages the right wing noise machine to dig up uncomfortable truths about Obama and Michelle.

None of is perfect. If we start going after Cindy, Michelle is fair game; and on and on.

[gladys46]

Thing is what right wing will attempt to do is bring lies & other confounded falsehoods re the Obamas! These "uncomfortable truths" and just that uncomfortable truths!!!

Who is actually being vetted in the election cycle ... the Obamas or the McCains ... why this late vetting of the McCains??

[VOTER]

News Alert:

Rudy and his wife have been "adopted" by the McCains and will

be presented as their sister-in-law and brother-in-law in spirit at the GOP Convention.

Thank goodness!

GOP FAMILY VALUES HAVE BEEN RESTORED!

[ex-pat]

That gets confusing as Rudy's former wife was his cousin

[Destin]

This is sad and pathetic. I can't believe that both halves of the McCain couple now have dubious family and personal problems like this. And I can't imagine why Cindy would have problems with acknowledging she has sibling. I mean, to pass yourself off for years as an only child, and to keep doing it during a presidential campaign? Jeez.

I can't fathom how she feels, or what the hell she's thinking. But in my experience, I have 5 siblings, thankfully all are still alive as I'm the youngest. But the oldest brother and sister, are actually half's. But we all treat them as if they were whole, and we love them just the same. We've never shut them out of the family, on the contrary, we consider them the elder statesmen of the family and are thankful we have them with us still. I couldn't imagine being so cold and callous as to do like Cindy, and shut them out of the family. But then, my fight doesn't have to fight over millions/billions. Nor are any of us an heir/heiress to an alcohol empire. I guess that probably is why my family gets along so great. But I'm guessing Cindy doesn't want to acknowledge them for inheritance purposes, probably wants every penny for herself, the rest of her siblings be damned I guess.

All in all, I'd love for Cindy to get interviewed and grilled on this subject by one of the major networks.

[DC]

I do not know if it it fair to Grill her on this,as all families are different. But the public is entitled to understand. Also why is it that John McCain's son is the CEO of the distribution empire and Cindy's hallfs have been written off since John came into the picture? (Connect the dots.. Cindy's family financed John's political career and continues to finance his children.)

BTW, I have some halfs and for us they are our completes.

[Destin]

I think it's plenty fair to grill her on the subject, since that would speak to her character and upbringing. We'll find out if she's legit and a nice person, or if she's been putting on an act all this time and is really a witch.

Compare, for example, to John Edwards. Everyone says it means something and is a factor as to why he shouldn't be a politician and all that. That it speaks about his character and such.

Well, to me, it's no different than Cindy McCain disowning all her siblings for some ulterior motive. And yeah, it could be all of John's doings. That's why she needs to be grilled. Maybe she's simply an abused wife who's not allowed to have contact anymore with any member of her family. That's not so big a stretch as I've seen that very thing happen too in marriages. Guys typically do it, being so overprotective they pretty much bar her family from even contacting her.

But I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, so long as she takes the grilling and comes clean about what/why she's doing all this shameful stuff.

[FiLoLi]

Is it safe to assume that you were raised with or in close contact with your halves growing up? I have 6 halves, but only ever considered one of then my true brother. It's the relationship that is developed over years. When people would ask me if I had siblings, I always thought my parents confusing past was none of their business. It was also very confusing for me growing up, so I would always just say I had 1 brother.

I don't believe that I have any financial obligation to these people I don't know, but I'm sure they would think I do if I had millions of dollars. Reading the story about her dads other daughter, it sounded like he may have given her what could have been her inheritance while he was alive.

[olivia]

The McCains seem to be hiding their adopted daughter from the public.

Is it because she has dark skin?

[rwe]

she has a deformity and they don't and never have wanter her paraded

[Destin]

Where in the hell did you hear that at rwe?? She's got no deformity that I've seen or heard about. Matter of fact, she's pretty much like any other 16 year old high school kid in America, except her skin color. Or maybe you think the fact she wears braces is a deformity?? Fact is, if she went on the campaign trail, it would cut into her high school requirements. And she has made at least one '08 appearance on the campaign trail during the summer recess obviously, but in an interview I've read, she pretty much prefers to stay home and hang out with friends and stay out of politics. Probably the smartest person in the McCain family. ;)

And as far as you saying they don't want her paraded, I guess you have a very short memory as well.....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/11/mccain-mailer-features-ad_n_81023.html

Guess you don't remember John McCain using this very daughter in one of his political mailers? ;)

[ECB]

Yes ! Yes ! Yes ! she is not African American - but she is Black. God rest his soul - but she is Bernie Mack Black !

[notthistime]

he doesn't want anyone asking her any questions or for the public to find out she gets only one meal a day and sleeps in a closet under the stairs.

[tgood]

If it's fair game to judge Mrs. McCain by her family , then judge Obama by his drunken father who dumped his wife and child. Wouldn't that make Obama guilty of the same thing based on your judgement of Mrs. McCain ?

If this is any indication of the "change" having Obama as president, when does the next civil war begin ? People are attacking each other with vicious extortions of facts and doing it in the name of supporting Obama. Thankfully, I think the majority of the people using HuffPo as a toilet for their filth aren't voters but trolls who love to pretend to have intelligence. It isn't working.

[southernsepia]

Yeah it's the same thing .

O bama screwed him out of the family inheritance.

O was wallowing in millions and refused to support him. I guess he should have sent him some of his scholarship money.

O has denied his very existence.

[Brainspore]

Where exactly are you getting any of this information? Obama didn't inherit his money, most of it was made from book sales well into his adulthood. And he did discuss his brother in one of those books, not "deny his very existence."

[olivia]

You didn't read the article, did you.

[live by the golden rule]

We are not judging her by her family, but by her own actions.
Cindy stole an injured woman's husband from her, just as her mother stole another woman's husband. What this shows us is that rich Cindy clearly is a very self centered woman. How else could she both husband-snatch and act with apparent indifference to two half-siblings, one from each of her parents' prior marriages?

[Economike]

This is what Paris Hilton is going to look like in fifty years.

[Anastasia]

As my father used to say, "Just because they're your relatives, it doesn't mean you have to like them." For all we know, Cyndi's half-sisters might deserve being forgotten.

[VOTER]

PLEASE!

Next you will be telling us that McCain's first wife and their 3 children deserved his
god awful behavior because he no longer "liked" them. Huh?

Or, even though Cindy's daddy was a convicted felon with MOB ties, her inheritance
is not from "dirty" money.

ROFL

[Brainspore]

Why, just because they vote Democratic? (It's true, read the full article.)

[notthistime]

no one deserves to be forgotten. They shared a father. It wasn't their fault their father chose to indulge in unprotected sex and spread his seed.

[NTO08]

Unfortunately, this game has two sides...Obama's ignored half-brother:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/barackobama/2590614/Barack-Obamas-lost-brother-found-in-Kenya.html

This is a game that either side should stay away from...a Pandora's box if there ever was one..

[jethrock]

I did not ignore him... He met him twice.

And wrote about him in his book.

[Roguewolf]

And he likes him so much he lets him live in a box on $1 a day while he makes millions off his book.

[Redrover666]

What a tragedy. Having met his destitute brother twice, knowing he was starving and living in the most squalid conditions.... he did nothing at all.
It's hard to imagine how Obama could be so callous and uncaring for his own brother. If he treats his own family so badly, just imagine how he'll treat the rest of us.

GOD FORGIVE YOU OBAMA BECAUSE I NEVER WILL!!!

[notthistime]

No pandora's box. Two different scenarios. I say bring it on.

[stickshift]

totally heartless! good sisters make the best friends. if the half-siblings are good people, then too bad for Cindy. she's missing all the fun.

[venicesurfer]

what about obama and his forgotten brother who lives in a hut in kenya?

[Economike]

What is wrong with living in a hut in Kenya. Is there a law against it?

[stickshift]

then the same about him. i'm an equal opportunity critic, and my point has nothing to do with party affiliation. good rellies are the best friends, and a gift of life to be treasured, not shunned.

[venicesurfer]

interesting reading the negative comments on cindy when today a report on obamas forgotten half brother emerged. he's living in a hut in kenya.

hypocrisy at its finest.

[notthistime]

Obama's grandmother also lives in a hut so what is your point and so does many others? That is their home and way of life. There is no shame in it so what exactly are you saying?