Cindy McCain: A Mother's BlackBerry

Reporter Holly Bailey of Newsweek tagged along with Cindy McCain and daughter Meghan during their recent trip to Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand. In her fascinating profile of the Senator's wife, Bailey describes the two times that reporters have seen Mrs. McCain break down on the campaign: 

McCain lost the South Carolina primary after a vicious dirty-tricks campaign, in which his opponents smeared Cindy as a drug addict and spread rumors that Bridget was really McCain's illegitimate child. Cindy cried in full view of reporters...

When Jimmy was in Iraq during the primary season, Cindy, like every mother whose son is at war, lived to hear his voice. She kept her BlackBerry in her hands at all times so she wouldn't miss his call. When she went onstage, she would hand the phone to a campaign aide who would stand with it in her line of sight. "She slept with that BlackBerry in her hand," says Harper. Earlier this year Cindy approached the senator backstage at a campaign event. She was on the brink of tears. "He called," she told McCain. "I missed it."

Bottom line: go ahead and mess with the husband, people, but not with his babies.

Jimmy McCain: Semper Fi

Jodi Kantor of the New York Times gives us the rundown on Marine Lance Corporal Jimmy McCain's experience of fighting the war in Iraq. But not all of it, or any current photos:

To protect Lance Corporal McCain in case he is again deployed to a war zone, The New York Times is not publishing recent photographs of him and has withheld some details of his service.

Jack McCain! Ask Chelsea Clinton To The Dance

This rocking suggestion came from Jack McCain's buddies on the plebe bulletin board of the Naval Academy, where they put pictures up of the midshipmen and the person who would be his/her most outrageous date. Jack (class of '09) already has a real date for the big May Ring Dance -- he's dating a local college student.

In an exclusive, funny interview with David Ausiello at GoMids.com, the second-oldest child of Cindy and John McCain talks about grades (even though he scored a perfect 800 on his verbal SATs, he's ranked 1002 out of 1100 students), his father, pictured back in the day above ("I don't think he's a person I've ever seen get choked up"), demerits (Jack has only 60 or so, for wearing flip-flops outside and forgetting to shave; his Dad was a record-setting legend at the Academy), and getting used to discipline thanks to training from his older sister Meghan ("she always kept my younger brother Jimmy and me in line; until we got big enough to fight back, she was always in charge.")

Speaking of 19-year-old Jimmy (or "Shorty," as his brother calls him), who's a Marine engaged to a chef named Tess and just returned from his first deployment in Iraq, Jack's a proud big bro. If Jimmy joined him at the Academy, Jack says, "I don't think I could say anything to him. He was the point man for his platoon in Iraq."

Photo courtesy of Buck82 via Creative Commons

McCain's Veep Choice

Ready for the reunion tour of the Romney brothers? Or the comeback of Sarah Huckabee and her brothers?

You've got to wonder who the McCain kids want to see running with their Dad -- after all, they're going to have spend four years hanging out with this person's offspring. If they win, of course.

I have a hunch he's going to be looking for somebody qualified to take the job of Commander in Chief -- with son Jimmy serving in Iraq, that's got to be a top priority for a military man.

When A Public Parent Blows it ... Publicly

It's hard enough to be dragged into the limelight because your parents are famous. But what happens when your Mom or Dad makes a huge mistake and has to confess it publicly? Parental penitence is another thing that Chelsea Clinton and the McCain kids have in common.

Chelsea's Dad's secret relationship with a White House intern made international headlines for months and months. And when Meghan was 10, Jack 8, Jimmy 6, and Bridget 3, their Mom admitted to the world that she'd been addicted to painkillers when Jimmy was a year old, after two back surgeries for ruptured discs, and that she'd stolen drugs from a charity she founded, the American Voluntary Medical Team.

Fast forward to 2008. Chelsea's parents are still married, and I can see the forgiveness in their family. Can't you? Cindy McCain talks freely about addiction, healing, and grace, and her children adore her. Both Bill Clinton and Cindy McCain have a shot at First Spousedom, which tells me that America's a country of second chances. And also that kids make fantastic forgivers when parents admit they blew it and face the consequences with courage.

Photo Source: Daniella Zalcman via Creative Commons.

McCain Kids Like Private Schools

Meghan, John and Cindy's oldest kid, went to Xavier College Preparatory before graduating from Columbia University in New York. Jimmy (a private in the Marines) and Jack (at the Naval Academy) graduated from Brophy College Prep, and Bridget is a sophomore who plays volleyball and basketball at a private school in Phoenix (she went to elementary and middle school here.)

Chef and Chaperone: Tess McCain

Q.: Who's taking care of Bridget McCain while her Mom, Dad, and big sis Meghan are on the campaign trail? 

A.: Her brother Jimmy's bride-to-be, Tess, who's studying to be a chef. 

Jacob Schroeder, kid reporter extraordinaire at Scholastic, has the scoop. He also tells us about Bridget's private school in Arizona, her love of volleyball and basketball, and her favorite family Christmas tradition.

Where They Live Now: McCain

So far, sparrowresearch shows that all the candidates live in enormous spaces. Take the McCain kids, for example, who grew up in the 1951 ranch house that was their Mom's childhood home just north of downtown Phoenix, Arizona. They had 2.16 acres of land, a pool, citrus and pecan trees, a view of the Squaw Peak mountains, a large guest house, nine bedrooms (the master had a Mexican-tiled patio with a whirlpool tub and outdoor fireplace ... suh-weet!), eight bathrooms, and security cameras. You can see a photo of the place here.

Since only Bridget is home these days, the family decided to move but had some trouble selling the house. Last year, they bought two condos at the Residences at 2211 Camelback for $4.66 million and combined them. The place has a rooftop pool, business center, hi-tech security & surveillance, and a concierge. Just what every fifteen-year-old needs to survive a presidential campaign, don't you think? They're probably waiting for Bridget to finish up the school year before moving -- that's my guess, anyway.

Guyz in Uniformz: The McCains

Jimmy McCain, 19, joined the Marines after graduating from high school and served in Iraq. His brother Jack, 20, is at the Naval Academy (class of '09). Neither of them needed to sign up -- only a few senators and representatives have children serving in the military.  This photo was taken when Jimmy was in that weird pre-hunk stage middle-school guys go through, but this is what the McCain boys look like now.

Their big sister, Meghan, is graduating from Columbia University this year. She got to intern for Newsweek last summer, lucky thing, and helped write an article about virtual personal trainers and another one about a trendy South Asian jeans-designer (who since then has gotten into big trouble). The youngest McCain daughter, Bridget, is still in high school, and they have three older half-sibs -- Sidney McCain and Doug and Andy Shepp.