First of all, I do not believe one's personal life is subject to how they perform in office. Yet if a candidate tries to use or misrepresent their personal life to show character to the public, then that is a different story. John McCain has tried to paint a picture that he separated from his first wife before involving himself with current-wife Cindy, but the truth is far from what comes out of McCain's mouth.
From The LA Times:
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.
The Times delves into the relationships McCain has had, with his first wife and what seems to be the impetus of the article, Nancy Reagan. Nancy scorned McCain when she learned the details of how he abandoned her friend Carol for Cindy. Even now, nearly thirty years later, her late and tepid endorsement of John shows the bad feelings that are still there.
Now I could personally care less about Nancy Reagan's endorsement, that is for Republicans to decipher. What concerns me most is that McCain smudged the facts (a.k.a. lied) in his memoir to give himself a somewhat better face in all of this. What he should do is admit his infidelity of the past and own up to it. Of course if he hadn't tried to base his candidacy on his imagined "character," he could have focused more on his legislative accomplishments....oh wait, there really aren't any to speak of (and don't get me started on campaign finance reform).
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