McCain's affairs - at what cost?

#1

TennNC

a lover, not a fighter
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#1
Decided we needed a clean thread b/c an interesting discussion started about McCain's affairs in the Edwards thread.

Sen. McCain acknowledged having multiple affairs 30 yrs ago. In fact, one of them was with his current wife, a 25-yr-old (very pretty and very wealthy, btw), while his then-wife was critically injured after a car wreck that occurred while she was waiting for him to be released from being a POW in Vietnam.

So, how much do you think his affairs will impact the presidential race?
 
#4
#4

really? Zero impact? But don't you think that voters will now see Cindy McCain a bit different knowing that she played a similar role in breaking up McCain's marriage that Rielle Hunter is playing in Edwards' marital problems?
 
#5
#5
really? Zero impact? But don't you think that voters will now see Cindy McCain a bit different knowing that she played a similar role in breaking up McCain's marriage that Rielle Hunter is playing in Edwards' marital problems?

You are making several assumptions in this statement.
 
#6
#6
really? Zero impact? But don't you think that voters will now see Cindy McCain a bit different knowing that she played a similar role in breaking up McCain's marriage that Rielle Hunter is playing in Edwards' marital problems?

No. People see a marriage that has lasted between MCCain and Cindy. Most people will choose to see personal growth and that the man just ended up with who he fell in love with, if he has been faithful. If Edwards marries that Hunter woman and stays in a life long committed relationship with her, people will be much more forgiving of it decades from now.
 
#7
#7
How do you know Cindy had an effect on McCain's marriage? That marriage may have only existed on paper when that happened.
 
#8
#8
But don't you think that voters will now see Cindy McCain a bit different knowing that she played a similar role in breaking up McCain's marriage that Rielle Hunter is playing in Edwards' marital problems?

Sounds like you are planning a push polling question...
 
#9
#9
No. People see a marriage that has lasted between MCCain and Cindy. Most people will choose to see personal growth and that the man just ended up with who he fell in love with, if he has been faithful. If Edwards marries that Hunter woman and stays in a life long committed relationship with her, people will be much more forgiving of it decades from now.

So my point, in the other thread, that Edwards' affair won't ruin his political career were correct given that McCain could cheat on his crippled wife and still become president one day?
 
#10
#10
So my point, in the other thread, that Edwards' affair won't ruin his political career were correct given that McCain could cheat on his crippled wife and still become president one day?

It will hurt it, but I agree with you, it is possible for him to come back one day. He knows it too, that is why he fessed up right before the D convention, the powers that be told him to.
 
#12
#12
How do you know Cindy had an effect on McCain's marriage? That marriage may have only existed on paper when that happened.

Maybe his relationship with Cindy was the straw that broke the camel's back. Here's what McCain's first wife said about the divorce:

"The breakup of our marriage was not caused by my accident or Vietnam or any of those things. I don't know that it might not have happened if John had never been gone. I attribute it more to John turning 40 and wanting to be 25 again than I do to anything else."

What if he wants to be 40 again?
 
#13
#13
from McCain's wiki article:

In April 1979,[54] McCain met and began a relationship with Cindy Lou Hensley, a teacher from Phoenix, Arizona, the only child of the founder of Hensley & Co.[58] Also in 1979, he pushed to end his marriage with his wife Carol, who accepted his request for a divorce in February 1980; the divorce became effective in April 1980.[18][54] The settlement included two houses, and financial support for her ongoing medical treatments due to the injuries resulting from the 1969 car accident; they would remain on good terms.[58]

and here is the footnote:

"John McCain Report: Arizona, the early years", The Arizona Republic (2007-03-01). Regarding his first marriage, McCain said that he "had not shown the same determination to rebuild (his) personal life" as he had shown in his military career, and that "marriages can be hard to recover after great time and distance have separated a husband and wife. We are different people when we reunite....But my marriage's collapse was attributable to my own selfishness and immaturity more than it was to Vietnam, and I cannot escape blame by pointing a finger at the war. The blame was entirely mine."

I think the whole premise for you starting this thread is silly. There is no comparison between what happened between Carol and John McCain and what's currently happening with John Edwards.
 
#15
#15
voters will make a lot of assumptions when they hear "McCain's affairs." that's what I'm trying to assess.

you make it sound as though McCain was chasing every skirt in Washington. From what I can tell, his only extramarital activities happened with Cindy, and he married her.
 
#18
#18
Trust me: John McCain is not going to win this argument if this election turns into a referendum on adultery. He's just not. Sure, he cheated (admittedly on his first wife) many years ago, but there are a lot of rumors out there about him cheating on Cindy McCain as recently as a few years ago (see NYTimes hit piece earlier this year about Vicki Iseman).

Despite what some of you may think, the press doesn't usually make stuff up. Remember, it was the Natl Enquirer that first broke the Edwards story. Everyone said it was BS (until it wasn't). When the NYT wrote that story about McCain having an "inappropriate relationship" with Vicky Iseman, everyone said it was BS, but I wouldn't bet on it. Just like I didn't bet against the NE when they broke the Edwards affair.
 
#19
#19
Trust me: John McCain is not going to win this argument if this election turns into a referendum on adultery. He's just not. Sure, he cheated (admittedly on his first wife) many years ago, but there are a lot of rumors out there about him cheating on Cindy McCain as recently as a few years ago (see NYTimes hit piece earlier this year about Vicki Iseman).

Despite what some of you may think, the press doesn't usually make stuff up. Remember, it was the Natl Enquirer that first broke the Edwards story. Everyone said it was BS (until it wasn't). When the NYT wrote that story about McCain having an "inappropriate relationship" with Vicky Iseman, everyone said it was BS, but I wouldn't bet on it. Just like I didn't bet against the NE when they broke the Edwards affair.

the only person making this a referendum on adultery is TennNC. And for you to say that the press doesn't make things up is one of the funnier things I've ever read on this board.
 
#21
#21
the only person making this a referendum on adultery is TennNC. And for you to say that the press doesn't make things up is one of the funnier things I've ever read on this board.

I don't know that they make stuff up but they do run with stories made up by others every now and then, in fact a very highly respected person lost their job because of it.
 
#22
#22
you make it sound as though McCain was chasing every skirt in Washington. From what I can tell, his only extramarital activities happened with Cindy, and he married her.

From what you can tell? Don't you see how ridiculous that sounds? Truth is: we don't know if McCain's had any other affairs since then, and neither do any of the blathering idiots on cable news who would just love an excuse to talk endlessly about it. Like I said before, if we want to make this a referendum on candidates sex lives, then McCain will probably lose. We need to stick to the issues. The press would love to make this an election about adultery, race, drug use, whatever... Anything but the issues. TennNC is just messing with you guys. He's demonstrating how it's done.
 

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