Free Republic

Thank you everyone.  John and I are so proud of them and so happy to have them here with us tonight.  Nothing has made me happier or more fulfilled in my life than being a mother.  But while John and I take great joy in having been able to spend time together this week as a family, our hearts go out to the thousands of families who have had to leave their homes once again due to devastating weather. It is not only our natural instinct to rally to them, to lift them up with our prayers and come to...

We started the day at a People Magazine photo shoot that took place in a ballroom at the hotel. It was like a movie set where the "prop masters" even had framed family photos on the tables in the mock living room setting. It was also one of the first times in a while where we had the entire family in one room at the same time, due to so many different competing schedules and commitments. It was like a mini-family reunion but with the bright lights and shutters of the cameras clicking nonstop. Before we knew it, the shoot...

Cindy McCain's half sister is planning on voting for Barack Obama, she tells Usmagazine.com. "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, 65, and the potential first lady, 54, have the same father: Jim Hensley, the founder of the beer distributor Hensley and Co. that Cindy McCain now chairs. In an interview with NPR News' All Things Considered last week, Portalski said she felt "like...

Lawsuit over McCain citizenship should be tossed, GOP lawyers say By Josh Richman Oakland Tribune Article Launched: 08/28/2008 06:19:23 PM PDT Lawyers for John McCain and the state and national Republican Party on Thursday asked a federal judge in San Francisco to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the candidate's place on California's Nov. 4 ballot. Markham Robinson of Vacaville, chairman-elect of California's American Independent Party, sued McCain, the GOP and California Secretary of State Debra Bowen on Aug. 11, arguing the presidential candidate's birth 72 years ago today in the Panama Canal Zone means he's not a "natural-born citizen" — a...

By Tony Thornton Staff Writer MUSKOGEE — The John McCain biographies are replete with information about his paternal grandfather, a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy. His maternal grandfather, Archibald Wright? Not so much. Nancy Calhoun thinks she knows why. "This is one skeleton that the McCains probably wish would stay in the closet,” said Calhoun, who is director of genealogy and local history at the Muskogee Public Library. Wright spent more than two decades in Muskogee. His twin daughters, including McCain's mother, Roberta Wright McCain, grew up in a three-story home that still stands at 1027 W Martin Luther...

Yesterday was another crazy day on the trail with my new favorite crew - the Palin girls. We went to an amazing rally where there were 12,000 people. John Rich and his incredible band introduced Dad by singing "Raisin' McCain" and then we were lucky enough to have them come on the road with us to Missouri. To the entire John Rich band and crew, you guys rock my world and I am so excited to have everyone traveling with us!

Some really nice pictures of the Palin family behind the scenes.

ABC News' George Stephanopoulos reports: Democrats' attacks on her family's wealth are unfair and offensive, Cindy McCain said today in an interview airing tomorrow on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." For nearly two weeks, Democrats have repeatedly hit Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., for saying he is unaware of how many houses he owns, calling the presumptive Republican presidential nominee out of touch with everyday Americans. In his acceptance speech at the Democratic convention on Thursday, Democratic nominee Barack Obama turned up the heat on McCain, saying he "doesn't know" about the lives of middle-class Americans. "I'm offended by Barack Obama...

There are a lot of behind the scenes photos at the link

Cindy McCain's half sister is planning on voting for Barack Obama, she tells Usmagazine.com. "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, 65, and the potential first lady, 54, have the same father: Jim Hensley, the founder of the beer distributor Hensley and Co. that Cindy McCain now chairs. In an interview with NPR News' All Things Considered last week, Portalski said she felt "like...

Cindy McCain, wife of Sen. John McCain, is headed to the Republic of Georgia, where tensions between the government and Russia have sparked international concern and have become an issue on the presidential campaign trail. McCain announced to a group of fundraisers in Sacramento that his wife was headed to the country, but the campaign did not provide any details about the trip. McCain has been very aggressive in his condemnation of Russia's invasion of Georgia, and his campaign has been critical of Obama's more measured response when Russian tanks first pushed into the country. McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker confirmed...

It's not every aspiring First Lady whose comfort zone is a war zone, but such is the case for Cindy McCain, who left Monday on a mission to Georgia to assess the civilian casualties caused by the Russian invasion. McCain is traveling with the U.N.'s World Food Program, whose work she monitored in Southeast Asia and Africa this spring and summer. McCain planned to meet with Georgian President Mikheil Sakaasvili, and to visit with wounded Georgian soldiers. She would also visit representatives of the HALO Trust, which works to remove landmines and on whose board she serves. Cindy and John...

Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, is traveling to the nation of Georgia, which has seen intense fighting with Russian forces over the past month, her husband said Monday. John McCain announced the trip at a fundraiser in Sacramento, California, telling the crowd, “Cindy is not here today, and I am sorry she is not, but she is on her way to the little country of Georgia.” The wife of the Arizona senator will return on Wednesday, CNN's Dana Bash reported. Cindy McCain is traveling with the U.N.'s World Food Program and plans to meet with Georgian...

Kenneth Vogel comes up with the answer at Politico that eluded John McCain in his earlier interview. The actual number of houses owned by McCain is … zero. That’s right — the Senator doesn’t own a single property in his own name.... Sen. McCain himself does not own any of the properties. They’re all owned by Cindy McCain, her dependent children and the trusts and companies they control. …

The talking point of the day: Sen. John McCain does not know how many houses he owns. In a classic gaffe, he tells a reporter to check with his staff; he just doesn’t know. The McCain campaign says “at least” four. Newsweek estimates seven... Here’s two truths that the McCain campaign can’t say: one, it is Cindy McCain’s money and not his.....

John McCain's family owns at least eight properties — not the seven Democrats are alleging or the four McCain's staff identified — according to a Politico analysis of property and tax records, as well as interviews. The presumptive Republican nominee, though, may have some wiggle room in explaining why he couldn't immediately provide an answer when asked by Politico how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own. Sen. McCain himself does not own any of the properties. They're all owned by Cindy McCain, her dependent children and the trusts and companies they control. Brian Rogers, a McCain spokesman, did...

Estranged family members come out of the strangest places when the lottery is won or someone has presidential aspirations. These quiet individuals find a sense of power never felt before in their lives when a blood relative has hit it big or is about to hit it bigger. In Barack Obama’s case, Vanity Fair reported on a half-brother who was recently discovered living in a small shack in Kenya. Obama’s relative lives on less than $1 a month. National Public Radio found Cindy McCain’s half-sister, Kathleen Hensley Portalski, who is not only a Democrat but also felt slighted when McCain...

They approached it in the slimiest of ways. Think they will get into all of his baggage???

Republican John McCain's wife was treated Wednesday for a "minor sprain" after someone at a campaign event in Michigan shook her hand firmly.

ROYAL OAK, Mich. -- The wife of Republican presidential nominee John McCain was taken Wednesday afternoon to Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak after complaining of pain in one of her hands during a fundraising event in West Bloomfield. -snip- Cindy McCain's hand was shaken a bit too strongly at the event, which agitated a pre-existing condition she had, McCain’s campaign said.

Denver Post Cindy McCain is perfect for first lady By Frances Owens and Monica Owens Article Last Updated: 08/06/2008 09:43:38 PM MDT As John McCain marches towards the presidency, he has relied on the support of his wife, Cindy. There is no doubt she is at the heart of her husband's campaign, and we would like Coloradans to know Cindy Hensley McCain as we have learned to know her. Cindy has dedicated her life to improving the lives of the less fortunate, both in the United States and around the world. Yet despite her humanitarian background, little media attention has...

Republican presidential candidate John McCain's daughter Meghan is just 23-years-old, but she's had her own political evolution. "I almost registered as a Democrat to be rebellious, but I registered as an Independent instead," she tells Glamour in its September issue. "Then my dad bragged about it, so it backfired." Meghan, a self-described "total daddy's girl," registered as a Republican as a Father's Day gift last month. Though she's been crossing the country by bus to help the campaign, she takes issue with parts of the GOP platform. "I don't relate to the hard right," she admits. "I think it's time...

How absent parents were crucial in shaping the characters of both Obama and his Republican presidential rival We will hear much, in the next four months, about the differences between John McCain, the 71-year-old white Republican candidate for the presidency of the United States, and Barack Obama, the 46-year-old black Democrat. But for all their contrasts, they have this in common: both have written books about their absent fathers, revealing autobiographies that follow a remarkably similar narrative structure. Even the titles echo one another: Faith of My Fathers, written by McCain in 1999, and Dreams from my Father, by Obama,...

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has promised he would not make his GOP rival John McCain’s wife a political issue, but at least one of his television surrogates is trying to make her personal wealth a major campaign issue. “I would never consider making Cindy McCain a campaign issue and if I saw people doing that---I would speak out against it,” Obama said in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network on June 18. Now, less than a month later, an Obama loyalist deployed by the Democratic National Committee to various television shows for the purpose of promoting Obama’s candidacy...

When Cindy McCain, wife of the presumptive Republican nominee for president, gets her picture taken while doing work with the Norfolk-based charity Operation Smile, she's not playing politics. It's personal. McCain has been a volunteer for Operation Smile since 2001, but the charity's mission reached into her life in the 1990s. In 1993, the McCains adopted a child suffering from a severe cleft palate. McCain had cared for the child at a Bangladeshi orphanage run by Mother Teresa, and she brought the child back with her to America, Operation Smile Senior Development Director Vonnie Wray said.

Outside her Bel-Air home, Nancy Reagan stood arm in arm with John McCain and offered a significant -- but less than exuberant -- endorsement. "Ronnie and I always waited until everything was decided, and then we endorsed," the Republican matriarch said in March. "Well, obviously this is the nominee of the party." They were the only words she would speak during the five-minute photo op. In a written statement, she 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...

Outside her Bel-Air home, Nancy Reagan stood arm in arm with John McCain and offered a significant -- but less than exuberant -- endorsement. "Ronnie and I always waited until everything was decided, and then we endorsed," the Republican matriarch said in March. "Well, obviously this is the nominee of the party." They were the only words she would speak during the five-minute photo op. In a written statement, she 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...

McCains X wife was with friends of mine recently at a cocktail party, as she is one of their neighbors. She totally sings his praises. She told them that she asked for a divorce due to her medical condition (private), that caused her disability. She continues to be in close touch with him and he continues to watch over her. They have a great relationship.

Now that Hillary Clinton has at last formally withdrawn from the race for the White House, the eyes of America and the world will focus on Barack Obama and his Republican rival Senator John McCain. While Obama will surely press his credentials as the embodiment of the American dream – a handsome, charismatic young black man who was raised on food stamps by a single mother and who represents his country’s future – McCain will present himself as a selfless, principled war hero whose campaign represents not so much a battle for the presidency of the United States, but a...

WASHINGTON - Cindy McCain says she will never make her tax returns public even if her husband wins the White House and she becomes the first lady. "You know, my husband and I have been married 28 years and we have filed separate tax returns for 28 years. This is a privacy issue. My husband is the candidate," Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting John McCain, said in an interview aired on NBC's "Today" on Thursday. Asked if she would release her tax returns if she was first lady, Cindy McCain said: "No." The Arizona senator released his tax...

Election 2008: Cindy Hensley McCain has been disparaged as a trophy wife, a Barbie, an heiress with fancy purses, even the Paris Hilton of politics. But there's more to the picture than meets the eye. Yes, Mrs. McCain is the perfectly coifed blonde standing dutifully behind the senator during his speeches. And yes, she wears stylish clothing and carries a Prada purse. And it's true she doesn't say much. But feminist critics who write her off as a "stand-by-your-man" shrinking violet are selling her short. In many ways, Cindy McCain stacks up sturdier than Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama. And...

John McCain’s wife, Cindy, makes more money than he does. Tax returns and other financial information for 2006 and 2007 released by the McCain campaign Friday showed the Arizona senator and presumptive Republican presidential nominee pulled in more than $740,000 from the Senate, his Navy pension, Social Security and book royalties. During those two years — the only years for which returns released — Cindy McCain, heiress to one of the nation’s largest beer distributors, earned more than $870,000 from her role as chairman of the distributor, Phoenix-based Hensley & Company. Additionally, assets held exclusively by her are worth at...

Coming in late to the "pimped out" conversation, I know, but I had a revelation while checking out Meghan McCain's blog. I wonder if the perception that Chelsea is being used by Hillary's campaign (like Dahlia, I need my job, so I'm not using the p-word) comes from what kind of work Chelsea is doing for the campaign, not the mere fact that she's out there at all. (And I want to say before I go on that I totally agree with Hanna's point that of course kids campaign for their parents.) Chelsea is making phone calls and giving speeches...

One evening last July, Senator John McCain of Arizona arrived at the New Hampshire home of Erin Flanagan for sandwiches, chocolate-chip cookies and heartfelt talk about Iraq. They had met at a presidential debate, when she asked the candidates what they would do to bring home American soldiers — soldiers like her brother, who had been killed in action a few months earlier. Mr. McCain did not bring cameras or a retinue. Instead, he brought his youngest son, James McCain, 19, then a private first class in the Marine Corps about to leave for Iraq. Father and son sat down...

Mr. McCain, now the presumptive Republican nominee, has staked his candidacy on the promise that American troops can bring stability to Iraq. What he almost never says is that one of them is his own son, who spent seven months patrolling Anbar Province and learned of his father’s New Hampshire victory in January while he was digging a stuck military vehicle out of the mud.

One evening last July, Senator John McCain of Arizona arrived at the New Hampshire home of Erin Flanagan for sandwiches, chocolate-chip cookies and heartfelt talk about Iraq. They had met at a presidential debate, when she asked the candidates what they would do to bring home American soldiers — soldiers like her brother, who had been killed in action a few months earlier. Mr. McCain did not bring cameras or a retinue. Instead, he brought his youngest son, James McCain, 19, then a private first class in the Marine Corps about to leave for Iraq. Father and son sat down...

On a spring day at a speedway in North Carolina, John McCain posed with his wife, Cindy, and racing star Dale Earnhardt Jr., highlighting the couple's political and business interests in a single snapshot. McCain served as honorary starter of the NASCAR race that weekend in Charlotte, N.C. Earnhardt drove the Budweiser car, painted military camouflage, rather than its trademark red, to honor the troops. Budweiser, then NASCAR's official beer, is brewed by Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., whose products have made Cindy McCain and her family a fortune. The brewer sold toy replicas of its race car to aid the Special...

Play of the Day: McCain's Mom on Mormons Nov 9 07:33 PM US/Eastern 103 Comments McCain’s Mother Goes After Romney and Mormons Related Stories Radar: McCain Clarifies Mom's Mormon Slam MEREDITH, N.H. (AP) - John McCain's 95-year-old mother, in a swipe at her son's rival Mitt Romney, said Friday that Mormons were to blame for the scandal that rocked the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. During an appearance on MSNBC, Roberta McCain laid out why her son, John, deserves to win the Republican presidential nomination. But in evaluating McCain's primary rivals, she criticized Romney's Mormon faith and his time in...

Of all the claims in support of John McCain's bid for the White House, perhaps none is quite as grand as this. As he arrived in London today, the publishers of his new book insisted the Republican senator's family was descended from the Scottish king, Robert the Bruce. For a veteran war hero staking his presidential campaign on military credentials, an ancestral link to a warrior who overcame the English to reclaim Scottish independence in 1314 has obvious appeal. But according to experts, the story may be no more than that. Asked by the Guardian to investigate McCain's past, genealogists...