As John McCain marches towards the presidency, he has relied on the support of his wife, Cindy. There is no doubt she is at the heart of her husband's campaign, and we would like Coloradans to know Cindy Hensley McCain as we have learned to know her.
Cindy has dedicated her life to improving the lives of the less fortunate, both in the United States and around the world. Yet despite her humanitarian background, little media attention has been given to Mrs. McCain.
As an advocate for children's health care needs, Cindy founded and ran the American Voluntary Medical Team (AVMT) from 1988 to 1995. Cindy led 55 medical missions to Third World and war-torn countries. On one of those missions, Mother Teresa convinced Cindy to take two babies in need of medical attention from Bangladesh to the United States. One of those babies is the McCain's adopted daughter, 16-year-old Bridget McCain.
In recent years, three organizations in particular have been the subject of her international focus: HALO, a non-profit organization dedicated to land mine removal and weapons destruction in war-torn countries; Operation Smile, a non-profit organization whose mission is to repair cleft lips; and CARE, which works to fight global poverty, particularly among women.
In addition to her humanitarian work, Cindy is the chairman of her family's business, Hensley & Company, which is one of the largest Anheuser-Busch distributors in the country.
Mrs. McCain is not only married to an American hero, she is the mother of two - her sons, Jack and Jimmy, both of whom are serving our country in the military.
Jack is attending his fourth year at the U.S. Naval Academy and hopes to become a naval aviator, and Jimmy, a Marine, whose unit had been deployed to Iraq in 2007, has recently returned home.
Her sophisticated presence, her compassion and her resilience are just a few of the reasons why Cindy McCain would be an amazing first lady - a woman who would make us proud to have her in the White House.