McCain's divorce alienated friends -- and his version doesn't always match court documents

LAT: McCain's broken marriage and fractured Reagan friendship
By Richard A. Serrano and Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
July 11, 2008

Outside her Bel-Air home, Nancy Reagan stood arm in arm with John McCain and offered a significant -- but less than exuberant -- endorsement. "Ronnie and I always waited until everything was decided, and then we endorsed," the Republican matriarch said in March. "Well, obviously this is the nominee of the party." They were the only words she would speak during the five-minute photo op.

In a written statement, she described McCain as "a good friend for over 30 years." But that friendship was strained in the late 1970s by McCain's decision to divorce his first wife, Carol, who was particularly close to the Reagans, and within weeks marry Cindy Hensley, the young heiress to a lucrative Arizona beer distributorship. The Reagans rushed to help Carol, finding her a new home in Southern California with the family of Reagan aide Edwin Meese III and a series of political and White House jobs to ease her through that difficult time.

McCain, who is about to become the GOP nominee, has made several statements about how he divorced Carol and married Hensley that conflict with the public record. In his 2002 memoir, "Worth the Fighting For," McCain wrote that he had separated from Carol before he began dating Hensley. "I spent as much time with Cindy in Washington and Arizona as our jobs would allow," McCain wrote. "I was separated from Carol, but our divorce would not become final until February of 1980." An examination of court documents tells a different story. McCain did not sue his wife for divorce until Feb. 19, 1980, and he wrote in his court petition that he and his wife had "cohabited" until Jan. 7 of that year -- or for the first nine months of his relationship with Hensley.

Although McCain suggested in his autobiography that months passed between his divorce and remarriage, the divorce was granted April 2, 1980, and he wed Hensley in a private ceremony five weeks later. McCain obtained an Arizona marriage license on March 6, 1980, while still legally married to his first wife....

***

On Christmas Eve 1969, while she was driving alone in Philadelphia, Carol McCain's car skidded and struck a utility pole. Thrown into the snow, she broke both legs, an arm and her pelvis. She was operated on a dozen times, and in the treatment she lost about 5 inches in height. After John McCain was released in March 1973 and returned to the U.S., he told friends that Carol was not the woman he had married....

***

(T)wo years later, while on a trip as a Navy liaison with the Senate, McCain spied (Cindy) Hensley at the Honolulu reception....

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-divorce11-2008jul11,0,5924926,full.story

Back in the day the Annapolis jocks I saw were always on the prowl for trophy-wives. McCrazy was brought up in the environment where women were just objects. He never grew up.

Dana Reeve and the devotion she showed to her paralyzed husband throughout his ordeal. I think of a family friend who stayed by his wife's side for years after a debilitating stroke left her in a wheelchair. I think of another friend who is currently taking care of his bed-ridden cancer-stricken wife.

Apparently the words "In sickness and in health" should have been replaced in McCain's case with "in health, as long as you stay a hot, young babe."

years before fighting cancer for a year and passing. My mother was helping him with a bad him, during a hip replacement and passed herself 10 months after him. when I think of love, I think of my parents. When I think of McCain, I only feel pity. What a pathetic man he is. Carol is a good woman, more women than he deserves. That skinny ghost he's married to is just like him: brittle, faded and a vengeance list maker.

I also think about the first wife enduring 5 years of being married to a POW. Could you imagine how hard that would be? It's scary enough when a loved one goes off to war, but knowing that your spouse is being held a prisoner and wondering if he's dead or tortured while also taking care of your three kids and having to be strong for them...that must have been sheer hell.

She stood by him when he was at his lowest point, but when he realizes that she reached hers, he bails. Had she left him instead, she would have been vilified as a cold selfish bitch.

those years and ultimately her reward for her loyalty was to get sucker-punched. Speaks volumes about his character - or rather lack thereof.

I enjoyed seeing that this morning.

I also saw that they covered the chimp's "Good-bye from the world's biggest polluter" comment, at least on their website.

Link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/mccain-the-cad-a-study-in_b_106286.html

:evilgrin:

people think he's straight talk express - he's a liar and evil.

wait until people dig into his military record. it may not be what he's make it out to be. just saying this based on the evidence of lies and deceit that are piling up. he truly is bush term 3 on the table.

He applied for a marriage license in March. A month before before his divorce was final.

From the article:

Although McCain suggested in his autobiography that months passed between his divorce and remarriage, the divorce was granted April 2, 1980, and he wed Hensley in a private ceremony five weeks later. McCain obtained an Arizona marriage license on March 6, 1980, while still legally married to his first wife.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-divorce11-2008jul11,0,5924926,full.story

i'm too lazy. betcha find it in 5 minutes tops. I'm itching to know. Total coup for you & DU if it's not legal & McCain's a bigamist, lol.

In AZ you don't have to show proof of divorce which seems a bit odd. On an unrelated note, how gross is it that you can marry your cousin but gay people can't be married? Freaking ridiculous. Anyway, here are the rules for AZ:

http://www.usmarriagelaws.com/search/united_states/arizona/index.shtml

ID Requirement:
Drivers license or identification card or other
id showing current address and date of birth. Bringing a certified copy of your birth certificate is recommended because some counties require it if you are younger than 30.

Residency Requirement:
Do not have to be a resident of Arizona.

Waiting Period:
No waiting period.

Previous Marriages:
Copies of divorce decree are not required.

Fees:
$50.00 - Cash or money order.

Other Tests:
No tests.

Under 18:
If you are 16 or 17 years old, you must have the notarized consent of your parents or legal guardian. If you are under 16, you must have the notarized consent of your parents or legal guardian as well as a court order.

Proxy Marriages:
No.

Cousin Marriages:
Yes, first cousins may marry if both are sixty-five years of age or older. If one or both first cousins are under sixty-five years of age, they can marry if they show proof to a superior court judge that one of them is unable to reproduce.

Common Law Marriages:
No.

Same Sex Marriages:
No.

Officiants:
Marriages may be performed by a member of the clergy (including a minister, priest, bishop, rabbi, and imam), a judge, a magistrate, a clerk of the circuit court, or a clerk or clerk-treasurer of a city or town. Ministers must record the marriage on the marriage license and return it to the clerk of the Superior Court within 20 days after the marriage.

Valid:
License is valid for 1 year.
The license can only be used within the State of Arizona.

Interesting. No proof required of divorce to get a marriage license. Rather strange. But I was still wondering if such a license, obtained while still married to someone else, is valid, or if getting a license under those circumstances constitutes a fraud.

Well, in an effort to find out, this is all I found, but it doesn't include a link to the actual Arizona law.

*While in most States a formal divorce decree is required for the issuance of a marriage license, this is not the case in Arizona. The fact that McCain got a marriage license for his new marriage with Cindy before finalizing his divorce with Carol does not confer on him any wrongdoing.

http://www.splitnation.com/content/mccain-and-cindy-marriage-perfectly-legal-arizona

No waiting period and no proof of divorce? I don't understand it.

more than a few poligamists families.

That's a comment at your link. "Not the classiest," indeed!

because it is written quotting ex-friends who are the Reagan inner cirle. As strange as it is to think of people like Meese as "people", the tone is that people who had liked and respected him really think he was a complete jerk. Alos, even though all I heard was from the left - one part of McCain's lies had filtered in - that his marriage was troubled, already really broken and she knew he was seeing others. This shows that is not true.

In

Before

The PUMAs

Rush In To Defend McCain

And Chide Us For Being Unfair! :)

:rofl:

I got a royal beatdown on this topic several weeks ago so I appreciate your post. :D

OMG!

Pitiful.