My Take on Cindy McCain’s Comments on the Campaign Trail

On Wednesday, Cindy McCain told a Pennsylvania crowd “the day that Senator Obama cast a vote not to fund my son when he was serving sent a cold chill through my body.” As the wife of a deployed soldier in Iraq, I want to say to Mrs. McCain, “The day Barack Obama and 14 other senators voted against a bill to fund our troops (because it lacked a timetable for withdrawal) put a smile on my face.” Barack Obama courageously voted against a bill because he wanted a provision for a responsible exit strategy for our troops. Before the vote that Cindy McCain is referencing, Obama did support and vote for a funding proposal that included a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq, which is a bill that John McCain voted against. Senator McCain is guilty of voting against funding for the troops, but his vote rejected the timetable for withdrawal that our troops so desperately need.

Cindy McCain also challenges Barack Obama to walk a day in her shoes as the mother with a son in harm’s way. I think it would be pretty easy to walk in Cindy McCain’s $5,000 Jimmy Choos. She’s the heir to a multi-million dollar fortune and her son is lucky to have a Senator for a father. I’m sure that connection has given him a few extra perks in the military. 

I do want to add that the non-partisan group, Veterans for Iraq and Afghanistan for America, gave Senator McCain a D and Senator Obama a B+ for their congressional records for fighting for veteran issues. It is interesting that war veterans gave McCain a failing grade for supporting our troops. Check out the full list here: http://www.iava.org/full-ratings-list.