The Very Human, Private Side of John McCain

I heard Karl Rove speak last week and he related an incident that speaks volumes about the humanity and character of Senator John McCain. Rove said McCain is a very private person, perhaps to a fault. Rove then told a moving story about a side of McCain that is but a whisper when compared to the maverick, independent streak for which he is famously known.

In 1981, Cindy McCain visited an orphanage run by Mother Teresa in Bangladesh. The McCains already had six children. But, Cindy brought home a desperately ill child for whom the orphanage was not equipped to provide medical treatment. As Rove told it, the child had only a diaper so Cindy bought her a Dr. Pepper t-shirt and that’s how Bridget arrived in the USA. When John met them at the airport, he asked about the child and where she was going to live. Cindy said she hoped the little girl could live with them. McCain said that was fine with him. The McCains adopted Bridget and paid for extensive surgeries and years of rehabilitation. Bridget is now a teenager.

But the story doesn’t stop there. Cindy paid another visit to the orphanage and brought home another little girl, this one in a Seven-Up t-shirt. Cindy quietly arranged for one of McCain’s aides, Wes Gullet, to adopt her. Nicki, who is now a high school junior, endured years of expensive medical treatment. Gullet said he never saw a hospital bill.

So, the next time you see that tough guy, John McCain, butting heads with anyone in sight, remember the poignant stories of Bridget and Nicki, two precious young women who would likely have died had it not been for the tender hearts, compassion, and generosity of Cindy and John McCain.

Barbara Lyons