September 2007

AP photographer and dear friend Stephan Savoia said during the 2000 campaign, "Look in their eyes. You can see it in their eyes." He was referring to the passion primary voters felt, (or didn't feel), over presidential candidate. He was right. You could see it in their eyes.

This time around, things are different. We started much earlier than in 2000. I had long forgotten about Stephan's theory until I was once again reminded by the primary voters in New Hampshire the week of the debate. Wow! It is as if we have had a re-birth. "Johnny Mac is back," I heard someone say. So is the fire in their eyes.

The debate on Sept 5th was like old home week. John was considered by all to have won. As a biased wife, I certainly agree! Once again, I saw his fire and enthusiasm for so many issues that he is passionate about.

One of the highlights of the month has been the wonderful friends and family who have been traveling with us. Our daughter, Meghan, has decided to try her hand at campaigning. It was a joy for me to have her join us.

We have also been surrounded by my husband's dear friends and veterans who have worked tirelessly on his behalf. They have traveled from state to state with us to show their never-ending support.

Though the Iraq war is an increasingly volatile topic, I am proud of my husband and his, "No Surrender" tour. We spent much of September traversing the country, returning to familiar stomping grounds like New Hampshire, South Carolina, Iowa, and Michigan, just to name a few. Wherever we stopped, I saw a change in those who have come out to hear my husband speak. There is an enthusiasm that had been missing in recent months. Perhaps, we're simply getting closer to voting time, but I believe that what the American public is seeing and feeling is the genuine concern my husband has not only for our country, but the world at large. He is the one candidate who needs no on-the-job training. His entire life has prepared him to lead from day one.

He is energized. We are all energized and we look forward to many more days full of town hall meetings and to hearing what is on the minds of those who come to listen and to share their concerns. Above all, when on the road, I am reminded of our wonderful country and the citizens who inhabit it, and the belief that my husband is truly the man to lead us is reaffirmed each day.

Our campaign has a new slogan, and I believe it describes my husband perfectly.

"John McCain... Courageous Service. Experienced Leadership. Bold Solutions."

Thanks for reading and see you on the road.

June 13, 2007

I just returned from another fascinating trip to Vietnam with Operation Smile. After landing in Ho Chi Mihn, we had a 4 hour ride into the mountains of Vietnam to the town of Bao Loc. It is quite picturesque. The children had already been pre-screened a few days before we got there. We arrived just in time for the Operation Smile team meeting which kicks off the week of surgery. It was a big team and more than half of the team was local Vietnamese volunteers.

Operation Smile has been operating in Vietnam for almost 18 years and has certified a great number of local health professionals in Vietnam to their standards. Operation Smile will celebrate their 25th anniversary in November. In celebration, their goal is to perform 5000 operations worldwide within a ten day period. There will be five separate missions within Vietnam alone and one of them will be on the Laos border. Of those five, three will be completely local medical teams comprised of Vietnamese doctors, nurses and administrative personnel from across Vietnam. Only two of them will have international Operation Smile assistance. Operation Smile has come a long way and done so much good in their 25 years.

The first day of surgery is always a little more hectic than the following three as the volunteers get used to working together. The logistics in this hospital were good. The recovery room was just down the hall from the operating rooms and pre and post op were one floor above. The goal was to perform 125 surgeries in the 4 surgery days and on day one, I spent the entire day with the team at the hospital. We donned scrubs and stood right in the operating theater during the surgeries. The doctors primarily repaired cleft lips and palates, although they did remove a 6th finger from a little girl's hand and also removed a growth off of an older woman's nose, which required them to do skin grafting. I spent my time going between surgery and recovery, checking how everyone was doing. Each day everyone was progressing nicely. It is always amazing to see the kids just before they go into surgery and then right as they come out. There is an immediate life changing difference and their families are beaming.

Families who come from far away are actually given a place to stay at the hospital. Operation Smile also provides a small stipend for them to buy food. Families are able to stay with their children in post op until the doctors release them to go home, which is usually a couple of days after surgery. My favorite part of the trip is talking to the children and the families after surgery. There is such a sense of renewed hope and promise in the eyes of these beautiful children. For a very small amount of money and lots of volunteer time, a child's life is changed for the better - forever.

On our way home, we spent an afternoon in Ho Chi Minh City. The city has made tremendous progress since my last visit and I was glad to see it. The downtown area now has a bustling business district and beautiful shops. I always enjoy visiting Vietnam and look forward to returning.

May 30, 2007

The rest of May was just as busy as the beginning. A highlight for our family was the many events surrounding our oldest daughter's graduation from Columbia University. Like many proud parents across America at this time of year, we cheered as Meghan crossed the stage on a beautiful New York morning to receive her degree. We are so proud of her.

May is also filled with McCain family birthdays and John and I celebrated 27 years of marriage this month. After a brief break to celebrate, I joined John in Houston for campaign events and then on my own to Boston and joined John again for several events in D.C. One of the most fun was a Young Professionals for McCain event where over 350 young professionals packed a DC rooftop to join us for a reception. It was a clear and beautiful night and great fun to share in the boundless enthusiasm of dedicated young people. One of our very own campaign staff, Tyler Powell, displayed his talents on the guitar and he was wonderful!

Another fun event was joining John to wave the flag to start the Coca Cola 600 NASCAR race in Charlotte. It was quite a rush to stand above the track as the cars raced beneath us! As a lifelong NASCAR fan, it was great fun to watch the race from the rooftop and be surrounded by the deafening roar of the engines. The night before the race, we joined 200,000 other fans on Speed Street and danced to the music of Cheap Trick!

NASCAR did a nice job honoring our men and women in uniform and John and I were pleased to have an opportunity to personally thank many veterans for their incredible sacrifices and service to our nation. We talked with a number of soldiers who had been wounded in Iraq and as always, it was a moving experience. Their courage and spirit was an inspiration to all of us.

As we head into June, I am taking a brief break on the campaign trail to join an Operation Smile Mission in Vietnam. I have been involved with this wonderful organization for many years and am privileged to serve on their board and travel with their clinic teams at every opportunity.

Hope to see you on the campaign trail when I return.

May 9th, 2007

We had a wonderful day off with our family in California between the announcement tour and heading full steam ahead into preparations for the first Republican debate. It was a chance to relax, have good Mexican food and catch up with the kids.

John and I spent Tuesday at beautiful Stanford University where he gave a speech at the Hoover Institution in which he proposed a worldwide League of Democracies to help organize countries, with whom we share basic values, to face the opportunities and challenges of the Modern World. He then spent some time preparing for the debate while I was fortunate to have some time to wander around the gorgeous campus.

Returning to the Ronald Reagan Presidential library is always a special treat. I was privileged to be there when the library opened and there were five living Presidents at that time. I have been back several times since and it was again a pleasure to meet with Mrs. Reagan and have the honor of laying a wreath with John at President Reagan's gravesite. It is an inspiring place with one of the most magnificent views I've ever seen. Inside the library, the debate took place underneath the suspended Air Force One that carried President Reagan on so many historic trips. It is always a thrill to see that huge plane hanging overhead and be surrounded by the memories of President Reagan. The debate went great for our team and John was very pleased.

We were able to combine a little campaigning with one of John's favorite pastimes -watching a boxing match in Las Vegas on Saturday. It was the De La Hoya - Mayweather fight and it was a treat to have our son, Jimmy join us for the fun.

John is off for a week of campaigning and I am preparing for our big family event next week, - the graduation of our daughter Meghan from college. Just like families all across America, we are so proud of her and look forward to celebrating at all of the graduation festivities.

Cindy

April 30, 2007

The remainder of the announcement tour was exhilarating and exhausting! It is so energizing to see so many old friends come out to greet us at stop after stop. In South Carolina we attended rallies at the historic flour mill in Columbia and the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston. I really enjoyed being back in beautiful Charleston. It is always a joy to have Senator Lindsey Graham traveling with us. He was clearly at home and enjoyed showing us the real South Carolina that he loves so well. We ended the day with dinner at a lovely Charleston favorite, The Harbour Club.

If we had forgotten the arduous pace of campaign life, we were certainly reminded of it on Friday. After waking up in Charleston, we traveled to Des Moines, Iowa for a Town Hall meeting and Sioux City for a rally before flying to Elko, Nevada for the night. Now this is the life I remember! In Sioux City, we were welcomed by a motorcycle escort from the airport to the Town Hall by Veterans riding proudly on their motorcycles. We were also honored to have our dear friend and Sioux City native, Colonel Bud Day join us for the Town Hall meeting and introduce John. Again, we had wonderful crowds and enjoyed interacting with enthusiastic people in all three states. I was also pleased to discover that Elko, Nevada with a population 30,000, has a Starbucks!

As much fun as it is to be on the road, there is nothing like heading home. We appropriately finished our Announcement Tour at home in Arizona, on the steps of the Tempe Town Hall. John received a warm welcome from a robust crowd and so many dear friends came out to show their support. It was particularly nice for John and I that six of the seven children could be there to join with us in the celebration.

In an appropriate finale, just as we had begun in New Hampshire in the rain, we were welcomed home by an Arizona dust storm. Thankfully, it waited until John had just finished shaking hands before we all had to run for cover!

It was a whirlwind week, but a good one - it is encouraging to travel around the country and meet so many hard working, positive people who believe as John does that America's best days are yet to come. It was a great opportunity for John to spread his message of hope for America's future and be energized by the returned enthusiasm. We had the weekend off and are headed today to Stanford University in California for John to give a foreign policy speech. Next, we will prepare for the first Republican debate of the season at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley.

Look forward to seeing you on the road!

Cindy

April 26, 2007

Day two of John's Announcement Tour. We are having a great time! Yesterday, we returned to New Hampshire and the Straight Talk America Bus. The bus alone holds many happy memories of campaigning in the great state of New Hampshire, but the people of this state are the real treasure. Last month I was here in the snow and yesterday we traveled in the cold rain. It was so inspiring to see so many old friends come out to greet us in the Manchester drizzle.

We started the day at a big rally in Portsmouth where John layed out his vision for America. He once again talked about the potential of America and his desire to have the opportunity to fix what needs to be fixed and make America the greatest force for good on earth. I can tell it's a message people are ready to hear by the looks in their eyes. I'm really proud of his positive message.

This morning we started with a round of morning shows and media tapings. The weather is certainly better in Greenville this morning, but the warm and welcoming smiles in South Carolina are the same that I saw yesterday. This is my first trip back to the Palmetto state in quite awhile. It was a great delight to see our good friend Senator Lindsey Graham and the South Carolina leadership team at the rally in Greenville this morning. We are off again, with a plane full of press, for a rally this afternoon in Columbia!

On April 12th, I celebrated the third anniversary of my stroke. Every year at this time, I am reminded that I was one of the lucky ones. Time is of the essence after a stroke. Due to the presence of mind of those around me, I was rushed to Barrows Neurological Institute. Thankfully, I have no lasting effects. In fact, I am healthier today than I have ever been. My stroke forced me to make my health a priority. I have changed my diet, take my blood pressure medication religiously, and exercise.

Heart disease is the number one killer of women--and men. For more information, please visit www.americanheart.org and www.goredforwomen.org

I just returned from a fascinating trip to Tanzania, perhaps one of Africa's most beautiful countries. I was met by women wearing colorful native dress and singing native songs to welcome us. The most rewarding part of the trip was to meet community women who are benefiting greatly by microfinance programs. Much like women's groups in the U.S. who join together to form investment groups, I met women in Tanzania who have pooled their money to form lending groups. These women typically make less than one dollar per day, yet they give one another short term loans at low interest rates through these lending groups. This allows their various businesses to grow, benefitting not only themselves but also their families and communities. The village we visited had five separate microfinance groups, the largest of which had amassed over $1000. It was moving to see the pride in their eyes.

John and I were determined to make this Presidents' Day weekend count, and we did. I joined him and over 400 supporters in Chicago on Friday night, where he spoke to the Union League Club.

John flew south on Friday night and I was due to fly early the next morning for my first full day in New Hampshire. Mother Nature decided to grace Chicago with a beautiful snowfall and "frozen fog," something with which a native Phoenician is totally unfamiliar. As the clock ticked and I knew my first event was starting, I was still sitting in the airport. So when the announcement came that the airport was reopening, I was thrilled and we were en route to Nashua.

When I arrived, I was quickly reminded why I love New Hampshire so much. I was late -- really late -- to my own party and yet, most of the group had stayed to welcome me. I even got credit for bringing some Arizona sunshine to Nashua as it was a warmer than usual day. The sight of so many familiar faces at the brunch hosted by the Nashua Area Federated Republican Women's Club and Nashua Republican City Committee was exhilarating. It was wonderful to again share a few laughs with friends as we remembered the long and fun-filled days of our women's bus tour through New Hampshire in 2000.

In the afternoon, I was able to return to another favorite New Hampshire spot, Franklin Pierce College and was again humbled by the very warm welcome I received. On the way to Keene, we stopped at a charming coffee shop called Brewbakers to warm up and swap weather stories with others trying to stay warm.

Then it was on to Keene, where I saw more old friends and made some new ones at the Cheshire County Republican Women's Club gathering. While John was holding his first town hall meeting this year, I was back in the state where he held his first and 100th town hall meeting in 2000. He launched the new website, www.JohnMcCain.com. It's a great site, easy to navigate and I hope many people will explore all it has to offer.