Cindy McCain, 53, John’s wife is a USC graduate and was a special-needs teacher. After her Dad died she took over his Budweiser distributing business and sales have doubled. It is a $100 million a year business. The McCains have a marriage prenuptial agreement, and her assets remain separate.

She is active with “Halo Trust” – to clear land mines, provide water and food in war ravaged and developing countries. Cindy has travelled the world clearing land mines these countries on a detonation team and serves on its board.

In 1991, Mrs. McCain came across a girl in a Bangladesh orphanage. Mother Teresa implored Mrs. McCain to take the baby with a severe cleft palate. She did so without first telling her husband. The McCain’s couple adopted the girl, nameing her Brigett (in 2000 she became an issue when opponents said she was a bastard child of an affair) She has had a dozen operations to repair her cleft palate and for other medical problems. Cindy has joined “Operation Smile”, a charity for corrective surgery on children’s faces. The McCain’s now have a Family Foundation for children’s causes.

The McCain’s have a 19 year old now serving in Iraq, another son in the Naval Academy, a daughter recently graduated from Columbia Univ., their adopted daughter is in high school, and another son who is the finance guy at the beer firm. The McCain’s raise their family in Phoenix declaring it better than Washington DC for kids.

Cindy has had two back surgeries and became addicted to pain killers.
She talks openly about it which she says is part of the recovery process.

The media has been generally mute about Cindy’s abilities and the McCain family’s attributes.

This is excerpted from an article by By MONICA LANGLEY in the Wall Street Journal April 17, 2008; on Page A8