There is an article on/in the Huffington Post today entitled GOP’s Teresa Heinz Kerry Attacks Come Back To Bite With Cindy that screams “Cindy McCain Charged $750K on Platinum Cards in One Month!” Can you imagine having platinum cards that would allow you to spend $750,000 in a month? One can only dream…and think of the frequent flier miles that would amass.
Now back to the article, at first glance I thought “Why should the wife of a presidential candidate, who is the heir to a Budweiser Anheuser-Busch fortune valued at nearly $100 million, be scrutinized for her or her children’s spending (i.e. $50,000 monthly Amex balances)?” Then I dutifully read the article and reconsidered my initial opinion after learning that, notwithstanding her fortune, Cindy McCain had unpaid property taxes totaling $7,000 (which, granted, may not have been due at the time of the inquiry), and that John McCain used Cindy’s business jet to travel the friendly skies on his presidential campaign trail. More worrisome however, was the fact that John McCain’s campaign was bailed out by his wife last year when it almost went broke! The “worrisome” part isn’t that a woman/wife/business person bailed out a man/husband/politician, but that McCain needed bailing out! Although if I recall correctly, Hillary Clinton is now in the process of paying off her campaign debt even though she and hubby Bill earned a whooping $110 million between 2004 and 2007!
So..after venting and writing this post I am left with new rhetorical questions like: “Isn’t going into debt during a Presidential campaign setting a bad example to the American people, who are over extended and in some cases, living on credit?” and “Isn’t it the way of the world for the haves and the have nots to face off daily as they vie for a lucrative position, such as CEO or President of the United Staes?” And on a more practical note, “Why should a woman who owns and operates one of the most successful Anheuser-Busch franchises in America be required to justify her personal spending that preexisted her husband’s presidential race?” Shouldn’t the public instead be admiring her financial acumen and praying that her business savvy rubs off on her husband and helps pull our country out of debt if he becomes the next President?!!? That, and we should be hoping she keeps her hand out of well stocked medicine cabinets!
