John McCain, Kept Man

Now, I'm just sayin'...

The McCain/McMansion/McNopoly blunder has brought new attention to the considerable wealth of John and Cindy McCain. But lost amidst the discussion of how McCain doesn't understand regular Americans' challenges, McCain's memory, and $500 loafers is the fact that it's not even John McCain's money. He didn't earn the money through hard work. He didn't invent a device that improved the lives of others. And he didn't make wise investments (unless you count marrying well).

Travel back in time with me for a moment:

In the 2004 campaign, we heard how the Democratic presidential nominee, Vietnam veteran and United States Senator John Kerry was an effete, French, out-of-touch, elitist who preferred wind surfing and green tea to downing a beer with regular folks in Podunk, Ohio. Recurring and vicious attacks revolved around his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, and how the Senator dumped his first wife Julia Thorne, gold dug his way into Teresa's heart, and married her money.

Glenn Greenwald revisits the criticism leveled at John and Teresa by the right:

"He's basically a skirt-chaser, folks. He's a gigolo..." - Rush Limbaugh

"He is ... a kept man. He lives off the money made by other men and left to their daughters or wives." - Ann Coulter

"Now, having a wife who provides you with a private jet and eight multimillion-dollar vacation homes provides for a comfortable life. But is this the right preparation for becoming president?..." - Rabbi Smiley Boteach, World Net Daily

Now, let's pretend for a moment that this is all true - that John Kerry was a soulless, money-hungry womanizer; that Julia Thorne didn't suffer from crippling depression and asked John for the separation; that the separation didn't continue for six years until their divorce in 1988. Let's pretend that the caricature of Kerry as a conniving gigolo is spot-on.

Where's the outrage now?

Meet John McCain. Another presidential nominee, Vietnam veteran, and United States Senator who left his first wife for a rich heiress. If you aren't familiar with the story (and that wouldn't be surprising - seeing as the traditional media appears terrified to mention it), get to know the story behind Carol and Cindy McCain.

When they married in 1965, Carol McCain - mother of John's eldest three children - was a swimwear model. In 1969, while John was in Vietnam, Carol suffered a broken arm, pelvis, and internal injuries when her car crashed into a telegraph pole on Christmas Eve. After six months of surgery, she relearned how to walk after being confined to a wheelchair and catheter. But when John returned home in 1973, Carol didn't look as she did when John left. She'd gained weight, lost about 5 inches in height, and she had aged. John - now a war hero - divorced her and married Cindy Hensley - former rodeo beauty queen and heiress to a beer distribution fortune - a month after the divorce.

Character questions about John McCain aside, where is the same narrative about Cindy McCain? We don't hear how she's John's sugar momma. We don't hear how she courts the Senator around on her private jet. We are only beginning to hear how she is the one who really owns their seven homes. And we certainly don't hear how her considerable wealth has allowed John to play Senator in Washington for decades.

I'm just sayin'...