From phoenixnewtimes.com Originally published by Phoenix New Times February 17, 2000 )2000 New Times, Inc. All rights reserved.

{ http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/2000-02-17/feature.html }

Haunted By Spirits John McCain derived his wealth from his marriage to Cindy Hensley McCain, whose father started his road to riches as a bootlegger. As a politician, the senator has remained beholden to the liquor industry and the family business. By John Dougherty & Amy Silverman

Would United States Senator John McCain be a presidential contender if it weren't for his marriage to Cindy Hensley McCain, heiress to the Hensley liquor fortune?

"How McCain Got To Be The 26th wealthiest member of the U.S. Senate"

From my own perspective, this is not off-topic for me, not unless McCain stumbles badly in the next month or so. His candidacy is shaping both Democrats' campaigns and postions more than W's is, as I see it.

Clinton is a master at stealing the opposition's positions. Some of the opposition's positions, as the whole energy price and availability situaton seems to continue to develop, will be stolen by Clinton-Gore, thus my not-off-topic comment.

Also, the old "follow the money" adage has so often yielded very interesting insights into, e.g., candidate's behaviors...

This article is a bit of a monster at something like 20 printed pages. If nothing else, it appears a fascinating picture of how a Navy brat whose earnings maxed out at maybe 45k got where he is.

Found this article following a link on WND, page one, by the way.

Now, if I could just figure out how to place html tags in these postings so that the quotes looked a lot more presentable!

-- redeye in ohio (cannot@work.com), February 17, 2000

Answers

Oops. Link to the article didn't make it.

" Financial background on John McCain"

-- redeye in ohio (cannot@work.com), February 17, 2000.

"How McCain Got To Be The 26th wealthiest member of the U.S. Senate"

Uh, he's 26th out of 100? So what?

-- Medi Ocre (@ .), February 17, 2000.

Nothin' quite like a good family 'recipe' after all!

-- Observer (GottaWatchThese@Jerks.com), February 17, 2000.

If John McCain married wealth, so what? Haven't hundreds and hundreds of politicians done so in this country over the past couple of centuries, and over the world throughout history? Read some Roman history, for one interesting example.

If his father-in-law began his fortune by bootlegging, then also, so what? The Kennedy brothers ALL have done well in being elected to the highest offices in the nation, and their OWN father, not their father-in-law, was a notorious bootlegger, among other things we won't mention.

It is the man and his own character and his ideology and the talents and experiences that he brings to the office that matter.

No one has ever accused him of doing various drugs, as they have the incumbent in the Oral Office, nor another contender now racing against McCain.

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), February 17, 2000.

That McCain married wealth (or that her family made a choice not to run off a war hero -- whichever or both) wasn't my intention to trigger discussion of.

McCain does not exist in a political vacuum. His positions have already forced W to do some shifting of his own. The two Dem's have been crafting theirs so as not to lose primary votes to McCain (in states where voters can cross over).

Also, as I listen to his interviews and positions today, and contemplate who to vote for in Ohio, I find it useful to look at how he got to where he is now. Humans are, above all, notorious creatures of habit. We are darned persistent in following habits, productive or not, healthy or not.

Example regarding McCain: now that his campaign has real major chips on the table, and W got energized, in for example that recent Larry King 3-way interview I think I almost saw McCain blow absolutely sky-high on national TV. The eyes gave it away.

My point? Just that at the stratospheric level of power he aspires to, the ability to maintain utter, absolute control seems like an awfully useful ability -- and the lack of that ability dangerous in high-stakes military-politico poker (or chess, if you wish).

Sitting across the table a lot of the time will be players named Putin and Jiang Zehmin.

Now, as for drugs, the Beltway insiders will tell you that power is the ultimate narcotic for an awful lot of them. McCain's been there for, what, 18 years? Is he largely immune to that high? I don't know.

For the record, am I a W fan? Well, it seems to me that that dynasty has as many skeletons rattling around as the Titanic had brittle hull plates.

Now, may I suggest we go to another thread to dissect the Kennedy clan? If we don't, poor Phil may have to buy yet another server!

-- redeye in ohio (not@work.com), February 17, 2000.

i think it's fine that he's rich. if he becomes president, that means he will be far less likely to go to the Chinese government and to Buddhist monks for campaign contributions.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), February 18, 2000.

So,You are a "W" Fan,what does it stand for? Windbag? Fans and Windbags,any similarity? :)

-- Beaufort (Blowing@W.wind), February 18, 2000.