About Mrs. McCain

Election 2008: Cindy (Hensley) McCain has been disparaged as a trophy wife, a 'Barbie', an heiress with fancy purses, even the Paris Hilton of politics. But there's more to the picture than meets the eye.

Read More: Election 2008

Yes, Mrs. McCain is the perfectly coifed blonde standing dutifully behind the senator during his speeches. And yes, she wears stylish clothing and
carries a Prada purse. And it's true she doesn't say much. But feminist critics who write her off as "stand-by-your-man" shrinking violet are selling her short. In many ways, Cindy McCain stacks up sturdier than Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama. And she'd make a more-impressive first lady.

Mrs. McCain: More than mee ts the eye.

While Obama's wife has been hating America, complaining about the war and
undermining our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, McCain's wife has
been worrying about her sons w ho actually are fighting or planning to
fight in the war on terror. One, in fact, was until a few months ago deployed in
Iraq during some of the worst violence.

You don't hear the McCains talk about it, but their 19-year-old Marine,
Jimmy, is preparing for his second tour of duty. Their 21-year-old son,
Jack, is poised to graduate from Annapolis an d also could join the Marines
as a second lieutenant. The couple made the decision not to draw attention
to their sons out of respect for other families with sons and daughters in
harm's way.

Cindy also says she doesn't want to risk falling apart on the campaign
trail talking about Jimmy - who was so young when he enlisted she had to
sign consent forms f or his medical tests before he could report for duty -
and potentially upsetting parents of soldiers who are serving or have been
killed.

The McCains want to make sure their boys get no special treatment. Same
goes f o r their five other children, including a daughter they adopted from
Bangladesh. During a visit to Mother Teresa's orphanage there, Cindy
noticed a dying baby. The orphanage could not provide the medical care
needed to save her life. So she brought the child home to America for the
surgery she desperately needed. The baby is now their healthy, 16-year-old
daughter, Bridget.

Although all seven McCain children - including two that Sen. McCain
adopted from his first marriage - are supportive of their father, they prefer
their privacy to the glare of the campaign trail. Another daughter, Meghan, 23,
does help him behind the scenes.

Cindy McCain not only cherishes her children, but al so her country, which
in an election year filled with America-bashing, is a refreshing novelty.
She seethed when she heard Michelle Obama's unpatriotic remarks that she
only recently grew proud of America. "I am very proud of my country," Mrs. McCain asserted.

She also may be tougher than the other women in the race. Whil e Hillary
"says' she's come under sniper fire on mission trips abroad, Cindy has
actually seen violence: She witnessed a boy get blown up by a mine in
Kuwait during a trip with an international group that removes land mines
from war-torn countries.

Mrs. McCain also is a hands-on philanthropist. She sits on the board of
'Operation Smile', which arranges for plastic surgeons to correct cleft
palates and other birth defects. She also has helped organize relief
missions to Micronesia.

During a scuba-diving vacation to the islands, Mrs. McCain took a friend
to a local hospital to have a cut treated. She was shocked, and saddened, by
what she saw. "They opened the door to the O.R. where the supplies were, and there
were two cats and a whole bunch of rats running among the sterile supplies!"
she recalled. "They had no X-ray machine, no beds. To me , it was devastating
because it was a U.S. trust territory."
As soon as she returned home, she arranged for medical equipment and
teams of doctors to be sent to treat the island children.

Michelle Obama 'may' contribute to CARE, which fights global poverty and
works to empower poor women