Cindy McCain, ship's sponsor, prepares to christen USS John S. McCain at Bath Iron Works in Maine. September 1992.In 1989, Cindy McCain became addicted to opioid painkillers such as Percocet and Vicodin,[29] which she initially took to alleviate pain following two spinal surgeries for ruptured discs[30][31] and to ease emotional stress during the Keating Five scandal,[29] which involved her as a bookkeeper who had difficulty finding receipts.[16] The addiction progressed to where she resorted to stealing drugs from her own AVMT.[30] During 1992, Tom Gosinski, the director of government and international affairs for AVMT, discovered her drug theft.[32] Subsequently in 1992, her parents staged an intervention to force her to get help;[16] she told her husband about her problem, attended a drug treatment facility, began outpatient sessions, and ended her three years of active addiction.[29] A hysterectomy in 1993 resolved her back pain.[29][31]
In January 1993, McCain terminated Gosinski's employment on grounds of budgetary reasons.[32] In spring 1993, Gosinski tipped off the Drug Enforcement Administration to investigate McCain's drug theft,[32] and a federal investigation ensued. McCain's defense team, led by Washington lawyer John Dowd,[32] secured an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's office that limited her punishment to financial restitution and enrollment in a diversion program, [7][32] without any public disclosure.
Meanwhile, in early 1994 Gosinski filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against McCain, which he told her he would settle for $250,000.[32] In April 1994, Dowd requested that Maricopa County officials investigate Gosinski for extortion.[32] The Phoenix New Times was about to publish a negatively-cast article about the whole affair.[32][29] Cindy McCain pre-empted this[29] by publicly revealing her past addiction, stating she hoped it would give fellow drug addicts courage in their struggles: "Although my conduct did not result in compromising any missions of AVMT, my actions were wrong, and I regret them."[7] A flurry of press attention followed, including charges by Gosinski that she had asked him to lie concerning her drug use when the McCains were applying to adopt their baby from Bangladesh[29] and statements by past AVMT employees that Gosinski had once threatened to blackmail her. The Arizona Republic published an editorial cartoon ridiculing the motivations for her AVMT work[33] and an award dinner in her honor was canceled citing poor ticket sales.[7] In the end, both Gosinski's lawsuit and the extortion investigation against him were dropped.[29]
AVMT concluded its activities in 1995.[24] That year, McCain founded a new organization, the Hensley Family Foundation, which donates monies towards children's programs in Arizona and nationally,[7] but she was largely a stay-at-home mom during the balance of the 1990s.[16] She also held positions as vice president, director, and vice chair of Hensley & Co.[22][21]
Posts: 2055 | Location: Martinsville, IL | Registered: 06-03-02
I'm not sure it's "amazing" we haven't heard much about that. It doesn't seem to be particularly scandalous or shameful. The woman got addicted to painkillers, did some silly things, but beat the addiction and came clean about it all. Obama has likewise been open about his past drug abuse.
What would be interesting would be to get the dirt on Chimpy McCokehead's drug career, but I doubt that'll happen any time soon.
I don't see how a spouse's past problems of this nature are part of a campaign. Millions have had problems similar to hers, millions have done as bad or worse when addicted. Besides, she is not the candidate. I really think the discussions should be abut the candidates and their positions.
Posts: 16186 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
Originally posted by DorianGreyed: I don't see how a spouse's past problems of this nature are part of a campaign. Millions have had problems similar to hers, millions have done as bad or worse when addicted. Besides, she is not the candidate. I really think the discussions should be abut the candidates and their positions.
Absolutely. I'd only be worried if the candidate was an alcoholic who'd stopped drinking, still showed clear signs of the untreated 'alcoholic personality' and claimed to have found God. Such men are dangerous
Originally posted by DorianGreyed: I don't see how a spouse's past problems of this nature are part of a campaign. Millions have had problems similar to hers, millions have done as bad or worse when addicted. Besides, she is not the candidate. I really think the discussions should be abut the candidates and their positions.
You know what DG...I would tend to agree with you. Yet look at what has been thrown at Barack Obama which I mentioned in my previous post. These things were not conventional campaign issues yet he sure had to treat them as such.
You may very well remember when Gerald Ford was President. His wife Betty was treated for drug addiction. And much of this kind of stuff makes the news, not so much as campaign issues but it does help form & shape public opinion about candidates, whether we think it ought to or not.
While I have not seen anything of this nature concerning Cindy McCain in the news, give it time. If a nobody like me can run across it, just wait till an ambitious newspaper writer, trying to make a name for themselves gets a hold of it.
Posts: 2055 | Location: Martinsville, IL | Registered: 06-03-02
But what would be the point of running the story? Why would anyone care? More than ten years ago, McCain's wife had an addiction and stole some drugs. She told everyone about it. It was in the papers then, so anyone who cares already knows about it - that takes most of the newsworthiness out of it straight away. Obama's straightforwardness about his own youthful drug use took the sting out of that story, too. Who doesn't have some such episode in their life? It'd be a strange, chronically timid person who never made any mistakes.
The Wright story had legs because it had a subtext - "Obama's been listening to this guy every Sunday, so if you elect him the streets will be running with the blood of white folks..." (or something like that - I don't pretend to be good at decoding coded racism).
But what's the subtext of the Cindy McCain story? That McCain might understand a little about drug abuse and treatment? That he stood by his wife through one of those things that life throws at us all?
Though not discussed here previously that I recall, I thought perhaps people were generally aware of this. I think I found it when gathering information for Sean to decide who the hottest prospective first lady would be. You mean y'all didn't find that out doing the same thing?
Maybe my own life has been too affected by someone close to me having a drug problem, but my own reaction is, "Good for her" for breaking the addiction.
I think we will see this story and the Keating Five when the fall campaign gets dirty.
Posts: 7496 | Location: in the backwoods of North Carolina | Registered: 06-07-02
Originally posted by newnickname: It's just not hot news.
And right now, no it is not hot news. As far as I know it's currently not in the news. But once the conventions are over, when the election season really heats up down the home stretch, with a little spin, this could potentially make quite a diversion.
fuse...I think you might be on to something reguarding the Keating Five. Many people have forgotten about that. But it could easily be reserected and rear its ugly head against John McCain.
Posts: 2055 | Location: Martinsville, IL | Registered: 06-03-02
