As Long As We're Talking About Michelle Obama, Did You Know Cindy McCain Was A Drug Addict?

It's a psychedelic experience this week, watching Cindy McCain out on the campaign trail, attacking the opponent's wife. In rally after rally she says, "I've always been proud of my country," a not so subtle jab at Michelle Obama's gaffe earlier about really being proud of America for the first time.

But Cindy McCain has one hell of a scandal in her past. In the mid-nineties she was addicted to prescription pain killers. Worse, she was stealing the drugs from the American Voluntary Medical Team, a third world relief organization she founded. Like most ridiculously rich people, she didn't have to go to jail for her crimes and was allowed to enter a rehab program rather than face criminal charges. The charity was shut down.

So when Cindy McCain says, "All I know is that I've always been proud of my country," take it with a grain of salt. She spent at least three years stoned out of her mind. It's impossible to know what she thought during that time. Was she really proud, or was she just hallucinating?

Cindy's addiction has been virtually ignored this election season. As a thought experiment, try to imagine what the reaction would be if Michelle Obama had a history with drug addiction? If Michelle Obama had stolen drugs meant for third world countries to support her own addiction?

Of course, we want to leave spouses out of politics. But if Cindy is out attacking Michelle people are going to start throwing rocks back at her glass house. She'd have to be high to think otherwise.

-Stephen Elliott

Some stories about Cindy's drug addiction:
Salon.com
The London Telegraph

Follow Stephen Elliott on Twitter: www.twitter.com/the_rumpus

Comments

[sfsj]

Ugggghhh! I'm so friggin' tired of the McCains and their continuation of the Republicans' belief that they can throw stones despite their lives being far from the picture of "family values."

Barack will absolutely stay above the fray. And he knows the majority of Americans are sick of business as usual.

[mari2JJ]

Actually technically, Cindy McCain did not steal from the relief organization. She actually committed three or four felonies to take those drugs. I live in Arizona and it was a terrible scandal but was not prosecuted as 3 felonies like most would have been. First, she forged a prescription with the name of one of the volunteer doctors who worked for that agency, 2. She had it delivered to her organization, paid for it as if it were for the program and 3. She stole the drugs and 4. she illegally ingested the drugs. For all of that, she was never prosecuted. No equal justice for the rich. Instead, unlike most street drug users who get the book thrown at them, she was placed in a diversion program, not incarcerated one day even during the investigation, and if effect walked away from four felony counts. And then any of the McCain buddies or the McCains themselves think anyone has a right to impugn the good name of Michelle? But no surprise, they just assume their money talks in a situation like this and that they have a right to think that too. Her father and grandfather both has shady, illegal behavior in their records.

[loria]

It makes me wonder how Cindy feels drug addicts (and I mean those who use crack, meth and heroin) should be treated. I would hope she has compassion for them and would like to see the disparity of the system dealt with, allowing those who have little money to receive treatment just as she did. I do believe that progress has been made in our criminal justice system when it comes to drug addiction. Drug Courts have popped up all over the country and these Drug Courts deal well with addiction. However, funding is always an issue even though treatment is much cheaper and more effective than prison. So, while I understand Cindy's addiction and am not surprised that her addiction lead her to do things she wouldn't otherwise have done, I don't get the impression that she really gets how fortunate she is. I would love to see her speaking out about addictions rather than patriotism and how she is more patriotic than Michelle.

[cobobs]

Drug laws and "war on drugs" need to be completely reviewed. Addiction cannot be "disease" for the rich and crime for the poor. Do the rich have a different biology? Maybe 50 chromosomes instead of the u sual 46?

[rosal]

Of course she is proud of her country, she didn't have to serve time for stealing drugs. I am sure millions of poor people can see, and wonder, how the system works.
I think the best thing for her is to lay low. Why bring attention to herself? Holier than Thou doesn't work for her.

[pupbayer]

She's staying low in Nha Trang (Vietnam) helping Operation Smile screen children with cleft palates and cleft lips for life-changing surgery.

[AMJordan]

Really? Was that where she gave that interview? And how do you know so much about her travelling schedule?

[mcgreen]

I'm glad she's a reformed drug addict. She has lots of good company out there doing good works and she is to be commended for it.

[SouthFloridaDem]

Aw. Isn't that cute.

[loria]

You are right, and I give her credit for that. But, she is using the media attention she is getting for doing that to take pot shots at Michelle's patriotism. Because we all know that Cindy is patriotic. After all, she is a Republican, and they have the corner on patriotism. Honestly, any good will I might feel for her because she is doing something for those who are poor is zeroed out when she gets into a pissing match about patriotism. I am sick of this being an issue. Does anyone think that Obama would be running for president if he and Michelle didn't love this country. Obama has spent his adult life serving this country. Why would he do that (instead of going to Wall Street to make a lot of money) if he didn't love his country and think that he could make it better?

[maryhaze]

how is she helping? she's not a doctor or nurse, so i'm not sure exactly what she's doing over there.

[JoePomp]

Hmm... It's pretty easy to be proud of your country when you are born into a family worth $Millions and never had to want for anything in your life.

Why isn't anyone talking about that?

Joe P.

[jupitor]

Jokhn Mccain wasn't proud of his country untill he was deprived of it , he said! So how is that any different may I ask you? So I think Mccains wife should just be quiet and go back to her million dollar masion, and leave us common folk alone, because were so dumb we knew what michelle obama meant just like the First Lady of the United stated said she knew full well what Mrs. obama meant! Remember John Mccain wasn't proud of his country till he was 30 years old, when he was deprived of it. Everything these two say, flys back in their face.

[pupbayer]

Plenty of people have talked about how rich Cindy McCain is. I'm sure she wishes she weren't! Get real. You're criticizing people for not criticizing her for being born into money?

[loria]

I bet she is happy being rich and I don't blame her. I would love to be rich. Most of these politicans are rich. The issue isn't their weath as much as weather they are able to continue to relate to those of us who don't have as much.

[M3Man]

This actually hits on the esential point. McCain is the son and grandson of Admirals, Cindy the daughter of a multi-millionaire. It is logical they have a different kind of pride in America than the son of an inter-racial marriage raised by a single mom, or his wife, who grew up working class in one of America's toughest ghettoes.

It makes me sick to have these white Republicans question the patriotism of African Americans whose parents and grandparents survived the harshest forms of racism. They want to say "Michelle went to Princeton and Harvard, she should always be proud." Well yeah, but her father and grandfather still had to ride on the back of the bus. They still had the federal government build massive projects like Robert Taylor Homes in their neighborhood, decimating the value of the homes they worked so hard to buy. I'd say they have a legitimate reason to be a little less proud. .

All John and Cindy's parents had to worry about is how to live off their government pensions and millions in beer money.

[livesimply]

You think Cindy Mc wishes she weren't rich! You get real. How many rich people wish they weren't? Heck, if it bothers them, they can always give their money away to people who need it.

[yvonne61]

If the Rep. got their nervous to talk and Mrs. Obama . What wrong talking Mrs. McCain boney ass. She got more bone in her closet If you listen you hear the demon. Mrs. Obama is a good and classy lady. Don't be a hater.

[srtjsrtj]

Part 5

The wife U.S. Republican John McCain callously left behind
By Sharon Churcher
Last updated at 1:45 AM on 08th June 2008

One old friend of the McCains said: ‘Carol always insists she is not bitter, but I think that’s a defence mechanism. She also feels deeply in his debt because in return for her agreement to a divorce, he promised to pay for her medical care for the rest of her life.’

Carol remained resolutely loyal as McCain’s political star rose. She says she agreed to talk to The Mail on Sunday only because she wanted to publicise her support for the man who abandoned her.
Indeed, the old Mercedes that she uses to run errands displays both a disabled badge and a sticker encouraging people to vote for her ex-husband. ‘He’s a good guy,’ she assured us. ‘We are still good friends. He is the best man for president.’

But Ross Perot, who paid her medical bills all those years ago, now believes that both Carol McCain and the American people have been taken in by a man who is unusually slick and cruel – even by the standards of modern politics.

‘McCain is the classic opportunist. He’s always reaching for attention and glory,’ he said.
‘After he came home, Carol walked with a limp. So he threw her over for a poster girl with big money from Arizona. And the rest is history.’

[evgolightly]

Thanks for your posts ...very interesting.

[Veratruth]

Thanks for sharing. This is proof that we all have to suffer the consequences of our mistakes in life. I'm certain that Cindy is not alone. It's too bad that she had to get away from it all by taking a trip outside the country that she is so proud of ... just another "price she has to pay."

[srtjsrtj]

Part 5

The wife U.S. Republican John McCain callously left behind
By Sharon Churcher
Last updated at 1:45 AM on 08th June 2008

Ted Sampley, who fought with US Special Forces in Vietnam and is now a leading campaigner for veterans’ rights, said: ‘I have been following John McCain’s career for nearly 20 years. I know him personally. There is something wrong with this guy and let me tell you what it is – deceit.

‘When he came home and saw that Carol was not the beauty he left behind, he started running around on her almost right away. Everybody around him knew it.

‘Eventually he met Cindy and she was young and beautiful and very wealthy. At that point McCain just dumped Carol for something he thought was better.

‘This is a guy who makes such a big deal about his character. He has no character. He is a fake. If there was any character in that first marriage, it all belonged to Carol.’

[srtjsrtj]

Part 4

The wife U.S. Republican John McCain callously left behind
By Sharon Churcher
Last updated at 1:45 AM on 08th June 2008


McCain transferred the Florida beach house to Carol and gave her the right to live in their jointly-owned townhouse in the Washington suburb of Alexandria. He also agreed to pay her alimony and child support.

A former neighbour says she subsequently sold up in Florida and Washington and moved in 2003 to Virginia Beach. He said: ‘My impression was that she found the new place easier to manage as she still has some difficulties walking.’

Meanwhile McCain moved to Arizona with his new bride immediately after their 1980 marriage. There, his new father-in-law gave him a job and introduced him to local businessmen and political powerbrokers who would smooth his passage to Washington via the House of Representatives and Senate.

And yet despite his popularity as a politician, there are those who won’t forget his treatment of his first wife.

[srtjsrtj]

Part 4

The wife U.S. Republican John McCain callously left behind
By Sharon Churcher
Last updated at 1:45 AM on 08th June 2008

McCain has acknowledged that he had girlfriends during this time, without going into details. Some friends blame his dissatisfaction with Carol, but others give some credence to her theory of a mid-life crisis.
He was also fiercely ambitious, but it was clear he would never become an admiral like his illustrious father and grandfather and his thoughts were turning to politics.
In 1979 – while still married to Carol – he met Cindy at a cocktail party in Hawaii. Over the next six months he pursued her, flying around the country to see her. Then he began to push to end his marriage.
Carol and her children were devastated. ‘It was a complete surprise,’ says Nancy Reynolds, a former Reagan aide.

‘They never displayed any difficulties between themselves. I know the Reagans were quite shocked because they loved and respected both Carol and John.’

Another friend added: ‘Carol didn’t fight him. She felt her infirmity made her an impediment to him. She justified his actions because of all he had gone through. She used to say, “He just wants to make up for lost time.”’

Indeed, to many in their circle the saddest part of the break-up was Carol’s decision to resign herself to losing a man she says she still adores.

[MizLiz]

Now that just makes me sick. Whatever happened to "in sickness and in health? For richer or poorer?" Looks like McCain only likes 'em healthy and rich. What a miserable little toad. And the Borg Queen isn't much better.

[ChuckToddFacts]

Is Cindy McCain a Borg?
http://blog.donavon.com/2008/06/is-cindy-mccain-borg.html

[srtjsrtj]

Part 3

The wife U.S. Republican John McCain callously left behind
By Sharon Churcher
Last updated at 1:45 AM on 08th June 2008

H. Ross Perot, a billionaire Texas businessman, future presidential candidate and advocate of prisoners of war, paid for her medical care.

When McCain – his hair turned prematurely white and his body reduced to little more than a skeleton – was released in March 1973, he told reporters he was overjoyed to see Carol again.

But friends say privately he was ‘appalled’ by the change in her appearance. At first, though, he was kind, assuring her: ‘I don’t look so good myself. It’s fine.’

He bought her a bungalow near the sea in Florida and another former PoW helped him to build a railing so she could pull herself over the dunes to the water.

‘I thought, of course, we would live happily ever after,’ says Carol. But as a war hero, McCain was moving in ever-more elevated circles.

Through Ross Perot, he met Ronald Reagan, then Governor of California. A sympathetic Nancy Reagan took Carol under her wing.

But already the McCains’ marriage had begun to fray. ‘John started carousing and running around with women,’ said Robert

[srtjsrtj]

Part 2

The wife U.S. Republican John McCain callously left behind
By Sharon Churcher
Last updated at 1:45 AM on 08th June 2008

For nearly 30 years, Carol has maintained a dignified silence about the accident, McCain and their divorce. But last week at the bungalow where she now lives at Virginia Beach, a faded seaside resort 200 miles south of Washington, she told The Mail on Sunday how McCain divorced her in 1980 and married Cindy, 18 years his junior and the heir to an Arizona brewing fortune, just one month later.
Carol insists she remains on good terms with her ex-husband, who agreed as part of their divorce settlement to pay her medical costs for life. ‘I have no bitterness,’

she says. ‘My accident is well recorded. I had 23 operations, I am five inches shorter than I used to be and I was in hospital for six months. It was just awful, but it wasn’t the reason for my divorce.
‘My marriage ended because John McCain didn’t want to be 40, he wanted to be 25. You know that happens...it just does.’

[srtjsrtj]

Part 1

The wife U.S. Republican John McCain callously left behind
By Sharon Churcher
Last updated at 1:45 AM on 08th June 2008

But there is another Mrs McCain who casts a ghostly shadow over the Senator’s presidential campaign. She is seldom seen and rarely written about, despite being mother to McCain’s three eldest children.

But when McCain returned to America in 1973 to a fanfare of publicity and a handshake from Richard Nixon, he discovered his wife had been disfigured in a terrible car crash three years earlier. Her car had skidded on icy roads into a telegraph pole on Christmas Eve, 1969. Her pelvis and one arm were shattered by the impact and she suffered massive internal injuries.

When Carol was discharged from hospital after six months of life-saving surgery, the prognosis was bleak. In order to save her legs, surgeons had been forced to cut away huge sections of shattered bone, taking with it her tall, willowy figure. She was confined to a wheelchair and was forced to use a catheter.

Through sheer hard work, Carol learned to walk again. But when John McCain came home from Vietnam, she had gained a lot of weight and bore little resemblance to her old self.

Today, she stands at just 5ft4in and still walks awkwardly, with a pronounced limp. Her body is held together by screws and metal plates and, at 70, her face is worn by wrinkles that speak of decades of silent suffering.

[Robespierre]

That's IT! I just figured out who Cindy McSame reminds me of!!!! Cruella DeVille!!! This has been bugging me for weeks now. Finally. Dalmations anyone?

[anastasiabeaverhousen]

Nah. Cruella's makeup and taste in clothing was much better (except for that whole coat thing......). Besides, First Lady Cindy? Pulllease!!!!! It simply sounds third-rate.

[rosal]

This is offensive to Cruella Deville. No dalmations near Sin-dy

[shadow322]

Cindy and her husband have a very poor history to bring before the American public. Let's just hope the truths get out. Don't forget John McCain's involvement as one of the Keating five! Even if one believes his spin that he was "duped" into illegally using his influence for personal and professional gain - it still would mean he might not be near the top of the corrupt leaders list, but it would make him a simpleton. Far too simple minded to lead this nation!

[saami]

Cindy and John McCain are great examples of the two Americas that John Edwards talked about. They are amongst the privileged few. Cindy should have gone to jail for more than one crime. But then GW Bush and Cheney should be in jail for crimes against humanity, etc. ...Rich man's justice.

[kkuate]

This talk about Cindy McCain having been hooked on prescription drugs, and not being able to be proud of her country at the time, is just non-sense.... Let's go to the main issue here.

Please focus on the source and/or beneficiary of Cindy's and Michelle's pride.

Was there a reason to be proud of America when the represive police forces were, under the order of a racist governor, breaking skulls and knees of the Selma Marchers?...Was there a reason to be proud of America when Dr. Martin Luther King, a pacifist and Civil Rights leader, was assassinated by powerful dark forces?...Is there any reason to be proud of America for allowing and not being able to dispose of an arrogant incompetent president, and a wicked vicepresident (Bush-Cheney)?...Was Cindy McCain also proud when the Kennedy brothers were shot dead by obscure American forces?....Let's just ask Cindy McCain any of these questions... There is a lot to learn from those who swear America does no evil.

[scooterdog]

Excellent post! It is not unAmerican to point out our faults. We cannot improve this nation if we cannot look honestly at what we do right and wrong. That is the way to progress. Michelle Obama knows this. I 'm sick of the old "My country right or wrong" attitude that people who are too lazy to think hide behind.