First Lady Cindy McCain

 

Accomplishment is not just about what we do in life.  It’s also about what we do with what we have.  For example, Michele Obama and Cindy McCain are, obviously, both attractive, capable women, each of whom is actively involved in her husband’s quest for the highest office in the land.  But, surface impressions are not always the best measure.

 

For example, a detailed look at McCain’s resumé tells us some very important things about her:

•   Age: 53

• Raised in Phoenix, heiress to Hensley & Co., one of the largest Anheuser-Busch Brewery distributors in the U.S.

• Education: Master’s degree in special education from the University of Southern California.

•  Occupation: Early years, high school teacher.  Currently, Board Chairwoman of Hensley & Co., Income: about $6 million in 2006. (Personal worth is estimated to be $100 million).

• Family: Married John McCain when she was 25 years old (he was 42), they have four children - Meghan, 23, who is currently writing a blog on the campaign trail; Jack, 21, currently at the U.S. Naval Academy; Jimmy, 19, is in the Marines and recently returned from Iraq; and Bridget, 16, whom Cindy brought home from Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Bangladesh.  Bridget had a severe cleft palate and has had multiple surgeries.

• Board memberships and charitable activities: Chairwoman of Hensley & Co., with more than 600 employees and estimated annual revenue of  $340 million; Operation Smile (provides reconstructive surgery to children with facial deformities around the world); CARE (fights global poverty); Halo Trust (dedicated to land-mine removal); Founder of American Voluntary Medical Team, 1988-1995 (provided emergency medical and surgical care to children in Third World Countries).

 

McCain was the only child in a wealthy family; she was a cheerleader and rodeo queen, later became a pilot, loves to drive race cars, and her daughter Meghan says, “Mom spoils our dogs silly.”  She has also experienced adversity: A stroke damaged her speech, right arm and leg, yet “eight months later she ran and walked a half-marathon,”  and “six weeks after having a knee replacement in 2007, she campaigned in snowy New Hampshire,” (“The quiet force in McCain’s campaign,” by Jill Lawrence, USA Today). 

McCain also overcame an addiction to painkillers that were prescribed “as a result of spinal problems that developed after” a series of miscarriages and giving birth to three children.  “…she underwent treatment and attended meetings of Narcotics Anonymous as part of a deal with prosecutors who dropped charges.” (“Flawed Cindy McCain has a grudge list,” by Tony Allen-Mills, TIMESONLINE, February 3, 2008).

There has been considerable commentary about the fact that John McCain lacks executive experience.  However, we never hear anything about the fact that his wife and closest confidant clearly has demonstrated executive abilities as chairwoman of a large company, which has nearly doubled in size under her leadership.  McCain has made it clear that she does not want to be involved in making policy, but that doesn’t mean her husband can’t or shouldn’t seek her advice on management matters.

If we were electing a First Lady, Cindy McCain would get my vote hands down.  She is the type of woman I would like to see in the White House: engaged; experienced; a courageous fighter who has known and overcome serious adversity; openly patriotic, with two sons in the military, one of whom has served in Iraq; empathetic to the plight of those less fortunate; not just a doer, but a leader in her own right.