The LA Times printed a doozie of an article today about McCain's infidelity. It discussed how the "nature and timing of his divorce" from his first wife Carol Shepp may have aliented McCain's key allies ie Nancy Reagan. But it is the reality that McCain's version of the events of his first marriage does not add up when you look at court documents that makes this story concerning for McCain.
Well let's dig deeper on what those versions were.
http://www.latimes.com/...
I am a firm believer that one's personal life shouldn't be part of politics since that is personal (ie Bill Clinton's infidelities). However, when a candidate discusses his personal life out in the open ie his own personal biography and it is in contrast to what is in the court domain than that gets into the core of a candidate's character. Is he really being honest?
Well this article talks about how McCain's version of events with his first wife doesn't add up to what is in the public square.
This article looks at this dilemma through the prism of McCain's "friendship" with the Reagans.
In a written statement, she (Nancy Reagan) described McCain as "a good friend for over 30 years." But that friendship was strained in the late 1970s by McCain's decision to divorce his first wife, Carol, who was particularly close to the Reagans, and within weeks marry Cindy Hensley, the young heiress to a lucrative Arizona beer distributorship.
The Reagans rushed to help Carol, finding her a new home in Southern California with the family of Reagan aide Edwin Meese III and a series of political and White House jobs to ease her through that difficult time.
But it is McCain's several statements about what transpired with his first wife that is in conflict with the public record (and obviously Nancy Reagan knows the truth).
In McCain's autobiograhy "Worth the Fighting For", written in 2002, McCain had written that he had separated from Carol before he began dating Cindy Hensley (now Cindy McCain) and his divorce became FINAL in February.
"I spent as much time with Cindy in Washington and Arizona as our jobs would allow," McCain wrote. "I was separated from Carol, but our divorce would not become final until February of 1980."
When one looks at the court documents it actually shows that there is a DIFFERENT version of this story.
McCain did not sue his wife for divorce until Feb. 19, 1980, and he wrote in his court petition that he and his wife had "cohabited" until Jan. 7 of that year -- or for the first nine months of his relationship with Hensley.
Although McCain suggested in his autobiography that months passed between his divorce and remarriage, the divorce was granted April 2, 1980, and he wed Hensley in a private ceremony five weeks later. McCain obtained an Arizona marriage license on March 6, 1980, while still legally married to his first wife.
Thus, McCain cheated on his first wife with Cindy Hensley and they even lived together while he was still married. His second marriage occured only 5 weeks after his divorce.
The McCain campaign now discusses this discrepancy as such:
In a recent interview, McCain said he did not want to revisit the breakup of his marriage. "I have a very good relationship with my first wife," he said. In his autobiography, he wrote: "My marriage's collapse was attributable to my own selfishness and immaturity. The blame was entirely mine."
Tucker Bounds, a McCain campaign spokesman, said: "Of course we will not comment on the breakup of the senator's first marriage, other than to note that the senator has always taken responsibility for it."
First of all, McCain was NOT truthful in his autobiography about what transpired with his first marriage. Secondly, McCain's adultery including cohabitation with Cindy McCain while he was still married to his first wife wouldn't sit nicely with the "family values/James Dobson" crowd. This may explain one of the reasons why McCain doesn't seek out the support of the "agents of intolerance" Christian conservatives the way that many Republicans have in the past.
Most Americans do NOT know the truth about McCain's adultery. If Obama had done that the WHOLE WORLD would have known by now. Hannity and Limbaugh would have railed every day about Obama. Luckily for McCain, Obama has said that going after family members is OFF LIMITS. As a result, do not expect the Obama campaign or the DNC to go after McCain on this (and they shouldn't I might add). However, if the 527s start to go after Obama's family, I predict that ALL bets are off and liberals outside groups will go after McCain. They WILL bring a gun to a knife fight if the GOP wade into the mud.