America's Favorite

Repeat after me: Cindy Hensley McCain. Say it again: Cindy Hensley McCain. I don't know why but it sounds like Theresa Heinz Kerry to me.

I like Theresa Heinz Kerry. And I really like Heinz ketchup and I always wanted to write a piece about the 57 varieties of Heinz. Remember when that used to be their slogan. I always wondered what they were. Relish? Pickles? Baked Beans? I wanted to have a barbecue and test them all. Were there really 57 or were there really more (or less) and they'd just gotten used to saying there were 57. But I digress because the point is Theresa Heinz Kerry didn't want to release her tax returns. She filed separately from her husband John Kerry. And at the time that he was running for president, she resisted making her tax returns public. For a really long time. In fact, she released her tax returns on October 16, 2004, less than three weeks before the election. And we all know what happened to him.

Repeat after me, Cindy Hensley McCain does not want to release her tax returns either. Her father James Hensley had a big bottling corporation, the Hensley Corp that exclusively distributed Anheuser Busch, Budweiser, Michelob, many varieties of ale, and by all accounts left a small fortune. And Cindy Hensley McCain has always filed separately from her husband John McCain and she doesn't feel that she needs to release them, now.

I could say a lot of things about this, the sheer arrogance of it, the notion that there are two sets of rules, one for everybody else who's running for office and one for them, the idea that the first lady doesn't have a public responsibility and that the citizens of this country don't have the right to know, the idea that the McCains don't have an obligation to make all of their investments public....I could go on and on...

But I'd rather talk about the 57 varieties of Heinz. They don't use that any more. Now, they just call themselves America's favorite. I wonder when they switched to that.

Comments

[JeremyO]

I can't think of a better symbol of the difference between our choices this year. What first lady do you relate to and believe should be the face of America, at least one of the faces, Mrs. McCain or Mrs. Obama? One represents the definition on entitlement, privileged life, in other words used to being rish and having power. You may be fine with that if you believe in capitalism as the cure for all things evil. The other, Mrs. Obama, common folk, down to earth, not privileged in any way. Those are clearly defined choices all right.

[raker]

Cindy says no; Teresa said no before she said yes. Bush wouldn't discuss his alcoholism or drug addiction or shirking of military service or arrest record or lifetime of failures; Bill Clinton disclosed every detail of his life including his underwear preference. It's interesting that people respect the f-you attitude, but only from the Right. The Clintons weren't allowed to dodge ANYTHING during the fake "investigations" of Clinton's presidency. They didn't have the guts to say no and and mean it. If Hillary Clinton had had the courage to flip them off and voted honorably against the invasion of iraq, she'd be the nominee today.

[littlenoodles]

Actually, a Supreme Court already packed with right-wing ideologues wouldn't let Clinton say no. Believe me, he tried.

But Scalia, Thomas, etc. were able to persuade a majority that it was okay to try a sitting President on trumped up charges - Paula Jones, I think was the case - dragging him into court and ending up in an absurd impeachment over Monica.

That plus a special prosecutor bent on finding something - anything - prosecutable. I wonder whether those folks even know what they thought was so important about bringing him down.

I'm not defending his messing around - just pointing out that there's a sleazy reason why we all know about it that's sleazier than the cigar routine by a longshot.

Okay all you Clinton haters out there - have at it.

[KarateKid]

No biggie. Her father won't get elected in November anyway.

[JeremyO]

She loves her country and sees nothing wrong with it. I would too if I had a couple 100 mill in the bank. Unemployment, high gas prices, high food prices, no biggie. Everything is a-okay in her world. Face-lifts every year, Vicodin by the pound, and all.

[obamajusrocks]

When asked about the war in Iraq Cindy kept on mindlessly blabbing - we 're fighting for FREEDOM.

huh ?

Since when did Iraq colonise the USA ?

[66rock]

So Cindy McCain is private
.
She talks about her privacy like she doesn't have to answer to the voters, well then she need not live in OUR White House. Who does she think she is telling Us how it's going to be.

Stay in AZ Cindy, please. Cluless,spoiled b.

[findingthetruth]

No, please don't say anything. Allow her to remain just as secretive as the woman her husband is dying to run against.

[hglassberg]

On the issue of Cindy McCain's tax return, we'd not only like Cindy to post it, we'd also like her to take a DNA test to ensure there's nothing in her DNA that might impact the electorate. In fact, all candidates and their wives and children should take a DNA test. A Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Test would also help the electorate decide who should lead the country through this perilous time. The Institute favors replacing one debate with a candidate Rorschach Test administered by a competent professional. Once the parties have nominated their candidates, a full body MRI would be in order, to rule out potential life threatening events. The MRIs could be televised with a team of medical professionals standing by to analyze them. As Americans entering the second decade of the twenty first century, we simply can't afford electoral blind spots.

Yours etc,

Handel Glassberg, President
The Playdo Institute

[swamijo]

I think at a minimum a psych evaluation should be required which would show that, while Bush is dumb as a stump, McCain is clearly insane (not to mention an ill-tempered, PTSD-inflicted little jerk who would actually call his rich trophy wife a c*nt?!)

[utd]

Bush was not as stupid as we all seem to give him credit for. He really did get his "Mission Accomplished", $200 a barrel gas within the next couple years, Halliburton is rich beyond their wildest dreams, and the rich got tax cuts.

[dadele]

I consider it this way, McCain has disclosing 1/2 his family's tax returns and half just isn't what is expected of a presidential candidate. If she wanted to keep her life private she should have told her husband running for president wasn't something she would go along with.

[busybeez]

I agree. Once her husband became the candidate, Americans have a right to know if there is anything unethical in McCain's senatorial decisions and his wife's investments. If she doesn't want to do that, than he should resign as the candidate. Complete arrogance, and I hope the MSM won't let her get away with it. We have already seen questionable behavior with her loaning McCain the company jet to campaign in. This man talks ethics, but it seems he is demanding ethics for other politicans, not himself. Hypocrite!

[don]

Arizona is a community property state. What pray tell is a community propery state? I'm glad you asked:


There are nine community property states - Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. In addition, Puerto Rico is a community property jurisdiction.

These states generally regard as community property all property that has been acquired during the marriage, other than a gift or inheritance. Even if one spouse earns all the money to acquire the property, all the property acquired is considered to be community property. While there are a number of differences in each state, all states have special laws that operate on the theory that both spouses contribute equally to the marriage; thus all property acquired during the marriage is the result of the combined efforts of both spouses. In community property jurisdictions, spouses equally own all community property (fifty percent owned by the husband and fifty percent owned by the wife).

http://family-law.freeadvice.com/divorce_law/1community_property.htm


So, you see, her income is his income. Since he is running for office, their income is of concern, and the special interests that are the source of that income are of concern. If this bothers her, she should have thought of that before she decided to rub our collective noses in her perception of none of our business.

[HollywoodBill]

A. There is a pre nup, the details of which have never been revealed.
B. Community property. In your own words "....other than a gift or inheritance." Cindy McCain's wealth comes from her inheritance. Any gains or profits from these funds are Mrs McCain's personal and private property and NOT the property of John McCain. Even if there were no pre nup, John McCain would not be entitled to any of these gains. It is only the monies that are earned that are shared. For example, she is entitled to 1/2 of his Senate pension, unless they are part of the pre nup. Should he or she buy a Powerball ticket and it wins, that is community property. If any houses that they bought are in her name as her own personal and private propety, which they probably are, any capital gains are hers and hers alone.

Community property is a very misleading term. It is beneficial in a first marriage when both parties are broke and starting out equally like the Obamas or Clintons. When there is disparity between the partners, there will always be disparity. Cindy McCain's parents were watching out for their only child and the law is in her corner even without the pre nup. In short, their financial details are no one's business but her own unless she has chosen to forfeit her private finances which she clearly has not. Keep your nose out of other people's business.

[don]

After 28 years, I'm sure that the investment properties, capital gains and dividends earned during the course of the marriage would be considered community property. Putting property in your wife's name is a dodge that works in other states. Any attempt to conceal the source of that income from the electorate would be our business. After all, McCain was one of the Keating five.

[HollywoodBill]

Don't forget, there is a pre nup. Any capital gains, dividends and wealth from properties would be kept separate and NOT be comingled funds and thus not community property. Cindy McCain undoubtedly has some of the best tax experts in Arizona working for her and apparently she takes their advice. This is no tax dodge. This is perfectly legal and is quite common when one of the partners has immense wealth and the other does not. Nothing is being concealed. It is her money and not his. And it's not like either of the McCains sits down and write out checks for the monthly bills. Her wealth is obviously kept separate from his and has satisfied the final arbitrer, the IRS. They are obviously NOT community property and have been presented to the Senate oversight committees and been approved. Another good example would probably be Diane Feinstein whose wealth is kept separate from her very wealthy husband and no one blinks an eye.

Cindy McCain's wealth comes from her inheritance from her parents and thus it is not, nor any of the proceeds from it, belonging to her husband. She has made money in her real estate dealings but the vast amounts, which pale in comparison to Teresa Heinz Kerry's wealth were inherited, pass IRS and governmental scrutiny and frankly, none of any one's business.

What John McCain did or did not do with the Keating Five is totally unrelated to Cindy McCain's personal and private properties and monies.

[swamijo]

I believe community property would include the many lavish homes they share together along with private jet, luxury autos, etc. that they both use and enjoy?!

[Dan Stewart]

I'm thinking that Amy Ephron has a funny way of writing here. If she has a serious point to make, why doesn't she be serious? Instead, we get nonsense about "57 varieties of Heinz." Is that supposed to be amusing? Well, I'm not -- because it's just not clever.

[springsm]

Lighten up. We all need to smile once a day at least...as hard as that is these days.

[Pyfagorus]

Truth be told, this piece does read remarkably like an installment of "A Few Minutes With Andy Rooney," a bit which for some strange reason I feel obligated to watch almost every Sunday, after which I find myself asking, "Is there any way I can get those few minutes back?"

[MercedesGabriella]

I thought "57" meant there were 57 different ingredients in the ketchup.

[NotaBeliever]

I'm thinking *her* holdings are none of *our* business. Arrogance? I can think of a whole lot of reasons not to vote for McCain and not one of them has anything to do with *her*. Let's keep our eyes on the prize. Seek out *his* vulnerabilities [they're not hard to find] and target them.

[SeriousBlack]

Right, and how much of a frenzy would the MSM whip themselves into if Michelle Obama was refusing to make HER tax records public?

[tbrnotb]

Where were you guys in 2004? You don't remember the stink about Heinz Kerry and her returns? The precedent has been set.

[gala1]

You could rather say that Mrs. McCain is the sort of uber trophy-wife that looks like an E.T. that's been pickled in 90 proof money.
You could say lots of other things.

But the one thing you really can't say is anything about her tax return.
It's not joint. It's hers.
And she''s not running for office.

So, dear, it really isn't any of your business.
Stop being such a yenta.


gala

[JBS]

Except that you wonder if that's where the vigerish is hidden.

[Titonwan]

So true.

[HollywoodBill]

Teresa Heinz Kerry never did reveal her full income tax. Instead her peeps put out an abridged two page return that the NYTimes and others scrutinized and came up with some number that sounded realistic but was neither confirmed nor denied. At best, it was a calculated guess.

Since it is the second time down the aisle for all the parties except Cindy McCain it makes perfect sense that both the Kerrys and the McCains have pre nuptial agreements. The outspoken Teresa Heinz Kerry made it perfectly clear that it is no one's business. Since Mrs Kerry never revealed the full extent of her estimated billion dollar fortune, it is only fair that the relatively poor 100millionaire Mrs McCain should not be expected to to have to do so. All the candidates are relatively comfortable and even the Obamas are scraping by on a measly 40 grand a month.

[army193]

Her holdings in stocks, etc should be concern to Americans...How many bills in the past did McCain vote for that may have increased the holding?

[JerryinATL]

she is not running for presedent and therefore she should not have to release her tax return. i would say she has the right to privacy on this one

[JBS]

The same right to privacy Hillery had when Bill was running? The same right to privacy Bill has now that Hillery's running?

What ARE her sources of income? What "quid pro quo"s attach to them?

How does HE benefit from her wealth? If they ain't got nothin' to hide ... why they hidin' it?

[pbfishtaco]

After 8 years of secrecy in this administration, aren't you tired of it yet? What are her investments? Does she have a financial stake in any decisions her husband has made since became a PUBLIC OFFICIAL? Don't you think the people who pay his salary now, and may continue to pay if he becomes president, have the right to know if there is such a conflict?
To coin the phrase of the lemming right; "If you have nothing to hide, why should it matter?"

[christiangulliksen]

I didn't care about Mrs Kerry's tax returns, and I don't care about those of Mrs McCain. I find the hypocrisy of demanding one, but not the other, annoying. But that doesn't change the fact that this is more economic voyeurism than anything, dressed up to look like a voter's due diligence.

They're both very rich. Everyone knows it. What we don't know is *how* rich. I don't think that's any of my business, frankly. And, let's face it, if they're doing sneaky stuff it's going to be gussied up in their returns, or go unreported.

[skip4Obama]

One of those flavors that the McBushes use is BULL HOCKEY....cindy McBush is such an arrogant tool and I shudder to think how she would represent this counrty.

[DennyCrane]

Yeah, let's the see the lazy media who seems to love McCain give this story the attention it deserves. The man is skirting finance law and his wife is covering for him. If the media did their jobs, they'd go digging. But of course, they won't cause they're aren't big ratings in someone's tax returns.

[pcplz]

When you have nothing to hide......you don't hide. Obviously there is something fishy or she wouldn't care what was released.....or she is doing just as her bully husband tells her to do. If she doesn't he may call her a foul name.......in public.

[doodlefarbe]

pcplz writes, "When you have nothing to hide......you don't hide. Obviously there is something fishy or she wouldn't care what was released....."


So, how much money did you make last year? How much did you pay in taxes. How much did you give to charities?

[newworldman777]

Have I disclosed my returns? Uhhh...no...but then again, I have made the decision to not run for president. This woman knew from the get-go (of her husband's run for president) that she would be expected to release her tax returns. When the time came to "ante up," she arrogantly refused to do so.

Why should we care? Well, the Republicans sure as hell demanded that John Kerry's wife release her returns in 2004. Additionally, we as citizens have a right -- an obligation, even -- to examine her returns, to ensure that no funny business, in the form of influence peddling, has occurred. Not that such funny business would have been reported -- but their refusal to disclose the returns certainly raises concerns.

So her husband is the one who is running, and not Cindy, you say? Well, if his endeavors are so separate from hers, then I wonder why he doesn't seem to mind utilizing her company's private jet, at little cost, to perform his campaign obligations.The McCains need to decide whether they should be a team, with John utilizing her assets to further his campaign, or they should be completely separate. Which will it be? If he continues to use her money and assets, then she needs to come off the returns. It ain't rocket science, "my friends."