In recent months, John McCain’s campaign has done its best–and thus far has succeeded– to shut down access to two important women in McCain’s wife, Cindy, and Vicki Iseman. All public traces of Vicki Iseman disappeared shortly after the NYT article linking McCain and Iseman possibly romantically and certainly in terms of pedaling political influence. Iseman’s picture disappeared from her company website, and she has not been heard from since, sort of like Ashley Dupre disappearing in the weeks since Elliot Spitzer resigned from office. Although Spitzer is no longer a public figure and thus his connections to Dupre are no longer much our business, McCain remains salient, and thus liaisons remain our business. Vicki Iseman, where are you? Media, why not do your job here?
More intriguing is the person standing adoringly behind McCain during his campaign stops and primary victories. Unlike Dupre and Iseman, Cindy McCain is a political figure. Unlike Chelsea, she has chosen her role as the adoring spouse. Given Hillary’s influence over Bill (thus a role model for first spouses), it is quite possible that Cindy could become quite an influential member of a McCain Administration. Thus, just as the public has a right to know about Bill’s tax returns, the public has a right to know the sources of Cindy’s 100 million portfolio.
The campaign’s fabrication of Cindy’s home family recipes– plagarized from Rachel Rey– something seemingly benign, still shines a light on the character of John’s political spouse. All the more reason to see what’s in her tax returns.
Finally, the press might want answers to a troubling pattern in John McCain’s response to pertinent questions about the women in his life. The women (or at least their voices) disappear.
