Cindy McCain v Michelle Obama

America's two prospective first ladies could scarcely be more different. Here we take a brief look at the lives of Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain and consider what qualities each would bring to the White House.

Cindy McCain

Background: After growing up a wealthy Arizona heiress, McCain, then Hensley, eschewed a role in her father's beer distributing business to embark on a career teaching children with learning difficulties. She later founded the American Voluntary Medical Team, leading 55 emergency assistance missions to countries such as Iraq, Nicaragua and Vietnam. During a visit to Mother Theresa's orphanage in Bangladesh in 1991, McCain arranged to bring a child to the United States for medical treatment, later adopting the girl. Upon her father's death in 2000, she became chair of the now $300 million a year Hensley & Co, the third largest distributor of Anheuser-Busch beer in the United States. She continues to be active in the charity world, serving on the boards of organisations such as CARE and the HALO Trust.

The marriage: The former cheerleader and rodeo queen met John McCain, married and 18 years her senior, at a military reception in Hawaii in 1979. The pair quickly embarked on an affair but Cindy was not to be cast as the "other woman" for long, as in February 1980 McCain divorced his first wife, clearing the way for their marriage in May of that year. She suffered several miscarriages before giving birth to their first child, Meghan (now an active blogger on her father's campaign) in 1984. She went on to have two other children, Jack and Jimmy, before adopting Bridget. A stay-at-home mum for several years, Cindy also helped further her husband's political career, introducing him to family contacts and campaigning with him door-to-door during his successful first bid for Congress in 1982.

First lady?: Cindy McCain has adopted a supporting, rather than actively campaigning role, in her husband's presidential bid. Attractive and glamorous, she nevertheless projects a homely, maternal persona - the perfect combination of political wife and soccer mom. Would be unlikely to get openly involved with policy-making, instead using her position to campaign on charitable issues. But make no mistake - she has no shortage of ambition where her husband's career is concerned and would certainly be his closest confidante.

On the campaign trail: Her past addiction to opioid painkillers - which ultimately led her to steal drugs from her own medical charity - has attracted unwelcome media attention. So has her involvement in the Keating Five scandal, which saw her husband accused of pressuring investigators to drop a fraud probe into a long-time friend and business associate of the couple - a charge of which he was later largely exonerated. She also drew criticism after it emerged that recipes she had submitted to the McCain campaign official website had in fact been ripped off the Food Network - an affair that became known as Pasta-gate.

While Cindy has largely kept quiet on the campaign trail, she has at times aimed blows at Michelle Obama, most notably after her rival's wife commented that she was proud of her country "for the first time in my adult life." She also recently posed for Vogue in a pair of size zero jeans - not bad for a 54 year old.

Michelle Obama

Background: A distinguished career woman in her own right, Michelle Obama grew up in a blue collar family on Chicago's South Side before attending Princeton University and Harvard Law School. She was then joined the law firm Sidley Austin as an associate specialising in marketing and intellectual property, before taking up a variety of positions in the public sector and non-profit organisations, first in the Chicago Mayor's office and most recently at the University of Chicago Hospitals, where she still serves as Vice-President for Community and External Affairs. She has recently cut back her professional responsibilities in order to participate in her husband's campaign and to devote more time to motherhood.

The marriage: The couple married in 1992 after meeting at Sidley Austin; she had been assigned to mentor Barack Obama when he was a summer associate at the firm. They later had two daughters, Malia and Sasha, with whom they live in Chicago. The pair appear extremely close and rely on each other for professional advice - she reportedly once asked him to meet with a prospective boss before deciding whether or not to accept a job offer. Her public comment that Barack is "snorey and stinky" when he wakes up at the morning were seen by some as demeaning but greeted by others as endearing. She was reportedly reluctant about the prospect of her husband running for the White House, and granted her support only in exchange for a promise that he would quit smoking.

First lady?: An Eleanor Roosevelt. A fiery public speaker, Michelle Obama has become a force in her own right on the campaign trail, and would likely take an active role in her husband's White House, using it as a platform to advance causes about which she is passionate. She would also restore a little Kennedyesque glamour to Pennsylvania Avenue, having been widely praised for her understated elegance on the campaign trail. In July 2007, she was listed among "10 of the world's best-dressed people" by Vanity Fair.

On the campaign trail: Notoriously outspoken, Michelle Obama has drawn both criticism and admiration for her conduct during the primary campaign. Her declaration that she was proud of her country "for the first time in my adult life" drew charges of anti-Americanism, while she displayed a less gracious attitude than her husband towards his then rival Hillary Clinton. Insiders have suggested that efforts will be made during the presidential campaign to head off such controversies in future, perhaps by restricting press access to her.

An intelligent and forthright woman, however, she has also provided a big draw to many voters, energising rallies and making confident appearances with Oprah Winfrey, Caroline Kennedy and Stevie Wonder, among others. She is said to be her husband's closest adviser, though she has repeatedly made clear that this is not in any official sense.

Comments

[JOHN CHUCKMAN, TORONTO]

Michelle is vibrant, intelligent, and educated.
She would make a delightful First Lady.

Apart from a warm and sincere smile, I very much look forward to her speaking her mind at times. Who knows, she might become the first female president one day?

Michelle and her husband clearly care about each other, the affection is palpable, a very refreshing and unusual situation in First Families.

Cindy has inherited family money and not much else I can see.

Her recipe-publishing caper - recipes taken from others - was a public relations disaster.

She's not well educated and sounds it.

She has paid for so much plastic surgery on her face, it is now embarrassing. Same with hair bleached until it looks weird. She looks like a bad job of embalming.

It has been widely reported that she and her husband have separate bedrooms. There is certainly no sense from photos of affection between them. They have a pre-nuptial agreement, and he gets to use things like her jet on contract terms.

He, of course, at least until he finally started turning into a trilobite fossil, had a reputation as a skirt-chaser. Same old, same old is the prospect here for the White House.

[me]

Your choice in photos is very telling... I don't even need to read the article guess the slant.

[z. turner]

I think Michelle Obama rocks. She comes accross as forthright, open and she is of this time and place. I believe she will make a great first lady. By the way, the comment she made I fully agreed with. I too have not been proud of some of the terrible things USA has done in the name of democracy. VietNam is one example. There are many.
Go Michelle!

[Mark]

Cindy McCain looks like Lady Macbeth trying out for a role as Barbie Doll. I guess she photographs badly, but her husband looks even worse when he's standing next to her.

[Lonee Urtuz]

I wonder why you would include such an unflattering photo of Cindy Mc. compared with the beautiful picture of Michelle O.
Could it be a form of racism on your part...SHAME !
It is completely unfair to both these intilligent women.
I am being sarcastic and don't think
you play fair with such two completely different photos.
Bad choice on your part.

[Jenny J]

Why do all the pictures of Michelle Obama look like she just bit someone or is getting ready too?

Bloody scary.

[Mary]

The choice of photos chosen by editors of The Times of these two possible First Ladies is absolutely shameful. Cindy's photo and profile is complimentary; Michele's photo makes her look like a lunatic and profile provokes panic. You all should be ashamed of such evident bias. Did the Times' owner personally make the picks?

[L Lyn]

Is it true that Michelle Obama is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)?

It is said that John McCain is, too. Is this correct?

[Colonel Bain]

O the likes of Cindy.. de Colonel is like Yogi Bear.. he likes Cindy..
Giddup

[Demi]

As an American living near Washington DC, I want to comment on Michelle Obama. First, the only historic aspect of Obama's nomination through the primaries is that he stole it from Hillary Clinton. Neither democratic candidate had enough delegate votes to win until the super delgates misued their voting power for Obama and denied millions of voters the right to fight on through to the democratic convention. The democrataic party allowed this to happen. Hillary carried the popular vote and our nominee should have been chosen by the people, not the super delegates. Obama won nothing, he slimed his way into the nomination and he knew weeks before that this would be the result.

Millions of us are organizing together to stop his rise to power. There are numerous reasons, many of which you may have heard. The associations of Obama are serious and should have disqualified him. Our media has become a far left liberal propaganda machine. Honestly you cannot believe much of what news stations like CNN, MSNBC, NBC have to say. It will be bias reporting that only reflects the liberal view and in this instance a dangerous view. I am not a Republican....I am a Democrat, who will fight to keep this dangerous candidate Obama from rising to power. Thankfully there are millions more like me. Michelle soon will be exposed. I do not think we can escape a good dose of her own rhetoric and hate. It is lurking on the surface and correctly links the her foundation as well as the foundation of her husband, Obama directly to the platform of their phony pastor, Dr. Wright, Louis Farrakhan, and many others. Character molds men and these men were the mentors of obama for over 20 years. I can assure all readers that Michelle Obama is not fit or qualified to stand in front of military wives, and women as a leader. She best stay back in Chicago with Minister the Farrakhan's wife and have a few more women's meetings. We will fight here for the safety of this country. We refuse to elect Obama. He is dangerous and the warning signs are enormous.

[Demi]

No Obama ever and no Michelle. They will harm and place America in danger. We are fighting here to stop this back door nomination that does not represent democracy. American voters have been disenfranchised and the democratic party has fixed our election. Obama will be stopped and Michelle probably is the worst presumptive first lady we have ever had the misery of considering.

[Cybella]

You wield a sly, nasty pen, Hannah, that clearly shows you to be yet another thoroughly gulled, witless MSM devotee of the Obamassiah and his Bride.

[JOHN CHUCKMAN, TORONTO]

Readers might appreciate some background on McCain's first wife.
Not a pretty picture:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html

[Wow]

I love liberal press. Always making it a point to state the "negative" traits of a conservative as opposed to the "positive" traits of a liberal person. McCain was addicted to painkillers, like millions of other Americans. The fact that Obama is "finally" proud of her country was hardly address. How awful is it to take her entire life to be proud of her homeland. How many Americans do I know that aren't proud of their country? Few to none. It's nationalism. You stand behind your country because that is the right thing to do.

I hope for the future of this county that Obama does not win the election. It would only lead this nation into further trouble originating from Clinton's presidency. Poor Bush had to clean up Clinton's mess because Clinton was more focused on his public affair than he was on making sure our country was headed toward a positive outlook. It's unfortunate that many liberals in the media can't advocate that.

Lastly, why don't you pass it on to your liberal friends that we're winning the war in Iraq and it should probably be addressed on TV. I think the American people would like to know that their sons and daughters serving in Iraq are progressing and on their way home.

[Laura]

I think some of the people that have commented here need to get their paranoia in check - neither of the photos are particularly flattering, so why for some reason you think it's some orchestrated plot to paint Cindy McCain in a bad light I can't understand. The information given is biographical, and both wives have good and bad points to them - I think it's more telling of your own bias that you're reading it like this than the writer's.

[Jane, London]

To Allen Ridge

The ultra-left wing press? This is the Times you're reading here not the Socialist Worker, think that comment says more about you than the writer!

And we do have the right to watch your elections, and comment on them, particularly as the US delights in interfering in the affairs of other countries - we need to know what you're going to do next! Instead of us simply refraining from running commentary on your elections, how about you refrain from invading some countries/orchestrating coups/kidnapping citizens?

[JOHN CHUCKMAN, TORONTO]

Demi,

Your post is pretty close to demented.

I suspect from the words you use and the way you use them, you are the kind of American who thinks the war criminal Bush is a "man of God."

[Raymond]

There are some violent and extremist expressions being used in some of these comments, all aimed at Obama which for a democracy are shameful. If you want to defeat him then try doing it by reasoned and factual arguement not cheap shots.

[Tom]

Ideally in 2008 America we would concentrate on who's the best qualified. And, it's almost unethical (for lack of a better word) for a Presidential candidate to be single.

That being said, it's to Michelle Obama's credit that she continues to maintain her dignity and class under this pressure. Remember, racism in U.S. politics is perfectly ok. In the real world, if you or I said this kind of stuff we'd be written up, sued or sacked. But it's one of the biggest industries in America. Just ask any network, "campaign consultant" or network pundit.

[Kelly]

To Demi,

You are either an emBITTERed Hillary supporter or a republican. Either way, YOU LOST, GET OVER IT!

Michelle Obama has worked hard to get where she is today. She was not some spoiled socialite as the 2nd Mrs. McBu$h is. The fact that her observations on the landscape of America is perceived as controversial, is a testament that she is in fact, in touch with the average citizens of our country. Conservatives have a tendency to be bothered by the truth.

She will make a GREAT First Lady, contrary to what Hillary supporters/republicans (same thing) think.