John McCain's First Family

Alex Leary of the St. Petersburg Times gives us a fair rundown of what happened to John, Carol, Doug, Andy, and Sidney during the 1960s and 1970s. Here's a clip:

When they reunited, 6-year-old Sidney's reaction captured the family's emotional distance. Ruth Carr, who lived next door, was there when McCain stepped off the plane at Jacksonville Naval Air Station on St. Patrick's Day.

"I said, 'Sidney, that's your daddy.' She said, 'Where's he going to sleep? What's he going to eat?'"

McCain's Granddaughter at UNC

Doug McCain (sometimes called Doug Shepp) is a pilot with American Airlines who lives in Virginia Beach. He and his wife Ashley have two kids, a daughter at the University of North Carolina and a son at Norfolk Academy. That means "Aunt Bridget" (John McCain's 16-year-old daughter) is younger than one of her nieces, and might be about the same age as her nephew.

Doug and his family live near his Mom, Carol Shepp, who was McCain's first wife. According to this interview in Pilot Online, Ms. Shepp "not only sports a McCain bumper sticker on her car but also contributed to her ex-husband's campaign." How encouraging is that for the blended families of America?