Cindy McCain's Half-Sister: I'm Voting For Obama

Cindy McCain's half-sister tells Us Magazine that she won't help put her famous sibling in the White House:

"I'm not voting for McCain," Kathleen Hensley Portalski tells Us. "I have a different political standpoint.

"I'm voting for Obama," the Phoenix resident says. "I think his proposals to improve the country are more positive and I'm not a big war believer."

...

Portalski's son Nathan, an aerospace machinist, is also backing Obama.

"I wouldn't vote for John McCain if he was a Democrat," he tells Us. "I would not vote at all before I'd vote for him.

"I question whether Cindy is someone I'd want to see in the White House as first lady," he adds.

Portalski went public with her connection to the McCains after hearing Cindy say on the trail that she was an only child.

"I'm upset," she told NPR. "I'm angry. It makes me feel like a nonperson, kind of."

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

The Washington Post subsequently reported that Cindy has another half-sister who seems to have slipped her mind:

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.

Comments

[tymark]

Who the heck cares if someone has a half-sibling. My mother had a half sibling that she never met, never had any correspondence with and never recognized when asked to name her siblings. When she passed away, guess what - we never listed this half sister as a survivor. Now, we live in the middle of the US, and my parents were members of different parties, republican and democrat. I believe what matters is NOT blood, but relationships. I have step children that are closer to me than my own blood children. So does that make me or Cindy McCain bad people? NOPE. Just real people. Let's worry about the real issues of politics and not trival nonsense such as denial of siblings. This article did a mis-service to the readers. Did not tell the FULL story, from both parties. Geez, how many of us really want to be judged by our relatives. If thats the case, should we not also be judge by our preachers and associates????

[MsPhilly]

I agree with you tymark. This election is not about relatives but what is relative to the issues. If we want to talk about siblings, has there been any coverage about OBAMA's half brother in Kenya who lives in dire poverty? Cindy McCain IS the only chld in that marriage and grew up being an only child in that family. Why do people call her a liar? Divorce is a reality in over 50% of marriages and children, unfortunately the ones who pay the stiffest price in it all.

There is no perfect family. Look at the Kennedy's and what scandals they have in their family history. Look at the Clintons. Can we say "blue dress"? There is no perfect family people.
Stop looking!

[BOBONDE]

CINDY = MISS BUFFALO CHIP,

[Lupin77]

Would like to hear more about the two half sisters.

[Jon Raymond - Huffpost Blogger]

McCain doesn't know how many houses he has. Do you think he cares or knows how many siblings he has?

[leftoflennon]

Oh snap !!!!!!!!!!

[IndependentBadger]

That is so cold. Cindy McCain scares the crap outta me. How do you "forget" you have a sister, and tell the national media, repeatedly, that you're an only child?

How does water keep from freezing in those veins?

[VOTER]

Correction: Cindy forgot she has two sisters.

[IronMikeHouston]

Oh GAWD, who cares. If I grew up as a single kid, without my half brother (or sister) living with me, I wouldn't necessarily claim them. Not because I don't like them. This is absurb., Obama has a half brother living in a shack somewhere in Africa (who really cares what country in Africa). He makes a dollar a month and if he said he would vote for McCain, would that be a story? I can't believe the media (and don't characterize the right wing media any worse than the MSM) would spend a nickel on either story! The media can't report the important issues but they can go look for Barack's half brother somewhere in the God forsaken land of Africa.

[Ibackobama]

That is the typical American arrogance that we need to change! Your brushing off of 'That God forsaken land in Africa' which is Kenya. We are totally ignorant of anything other than (for some) what goes on in this country. This is exactly why we are out there fighting a war that we did not need to be in, having unecessarily killed several of our own kids and no telling how many innocent civilians in Iraq. For what? We took ourselves in there telling our kids it would be a cake walk. Had we done a bit of home work, we would know that kids brought up with all the luxury in the world, cannot do well in guerilla warfare. Well here we are 5 years later, hated by everyone else. We have to realize we cannot live in a vacuum, that we need one another to co-exist, we need to understand/embrace one another's differences and learn to appreciate that we can be different but we can respect each others differences.

[truthynesslover]

Would you then say your an only child??Thats not just a little weird to you????Oh yeah.And where is the adopted girl from india???

[zeezan]

She actually "forgot" she has two sisters -- one born to her father and one born to her mother. That doesn't spell family values to me.

[laragale]

yep and from looking at the People cover she also "forgot" she has a non-white child....

[Lupin77]

By the way there is also the Bangladeshi adopted daughter they completely keep in the background. You never see her and I wonder why. She's lovely and should be out there with the family.

[flamberg]

Love your site so left you all cant see straight. You will sit here and bash someone. But when someone puts some truth into a post. I get censored. Didnt put a thing in that wasn't true. Just said facts about Sen Obama and his wife, and some facts about President Clinton didnt say anything derogitory but where is my post.

[EBennett]

The moderating system here is very interesting. Anything that is not a cheer for Senator Obama gets censored. I've had it happen with dozens of posts. Meanwhile obscenity-laden posts get through without any problems.

[Topsailsman]

Sorry to blow your theory but I had a post critical of President Bush censored, no obscenity in it. So they aren't just picking on you poor picked-upon conservatives. But never mind the facts.....­..........­.

[NotPaidToSayThis]

Maybe your comment had nothing to do with the topic of the piece.

[cariintexas]

Yes flamberg, We feel the luv. you got censored, sounds like a personal problem to me

[hoopesaz]

Uh...maybe that explains why should doesn't get any money from Cindy.

[PoliSci2008]

McCAIN has blood-relative who will not be voting him, either. McCain's blood cousins are voting Obama!!!!

[GLT21]

See McCain's family values in action.

[lovesmuddpuddles]

It is possible that she wasn't raised with these half siblings. If she was the only child of one parent and didn't have a relationship with the others (especially growing up) I can't totally understand why she refered to herself as an only child.
Whats more the house thing has gotten old. I'm more or less worried about what both of these candidates have to offer us as far as economics and communicatino with other countries.
Lets stop calling each other names and find real things to be upset.

[MDinOK]

I bet Cindy is voting for Obama, too!

[WallyWutMD]

Put me down for that bet too! Especially with the Alaskin oil beauty queen on the ticket now. McCain's first wife knows all about McCain's fondness of trophy girls. Almost as much as Cindy knows.

[hoopesaz]

Didn't stop JFK, won't stop McCain.

[stargazer13]

Does any one know how Cindy broke her arm

[2008thankyou]

It's not broke, carpul tunnel supposedly was aggrivated by a handshake. In reality thought, she was Dr. shopping for some pain pills.

[zeezan]

I have had carpal tunnel in both wrists and even after surgery it doesn't require a cast -- a split maybe, but not a cast.

[DuPageDem]

Must be the half with a brain.

[ChefLito]

they don't know how many houses they have! they don't know their own relatives! if they don't know stuff this close to them, how could they know anything substantial for other people?? As Obama said in his speech last night, it's not McCain does not care, it's just he didn't know. and that's true for his own wife and family!! another bunch of morons who want to run the country!