Carol McCain was Sen. John McCain's (formerly an attractive model) wife when he was being held in a North Vietnamese prison for 5 years. She was also the mother of his three children. They were married in 1965. Then in 1969 her car skidded on an icy road and hit a utility pole. Her pelvis was shattered and she also suffered from serious internal injuries. To save her legs, doctors had to remove some bone which caused her to walk with a limp. Carol eventually under went 23 surgeries related to her injuries. Texas billionaire and POW supporter, H. Ross Perot paid for Carol McCain's medical treatments.

McCain met the current Mrs. McCain (Cindy, who was 25 at the time) at a party in Hawaii while he was still married to Carol in 1979. He and Cindy were married in 1980. In spite of all this, Carol reportedly still supports her ex-husband's bid for the white house.

My question is this: Does McCain's somewhat shabby treatment of his severely injured ex-wife reflect a certain lack of compassion on his part, especially since he left her for a younger and much wealthier woman? So far, I have not heard very much about this in the media, and even less from the evangelical community who are always bringing up family value and personal integrity issues, especially where Democrats are concerned. In my mind this kind of thing is a lot worse behavior than Bill Clinton's 15 minute dalliance with Monica Lewinsky

Was his decision based on the fact that his wife was no longer the attractive young woman she was when he shipped off to Vietnam, or was it because he simply opted for a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity for a giant leap in the upward social mobility category? Inquiring minds want to know.

It has also been reported in various media sources, including some on the internet (surprise surprise) that playboy Navy Captain McCain had what amounts to an adulterous relationship with current wife Cindy while he was still married to Carol.

Once they were wed, Cindy's wealthy father helped his new son-in-law get into Arizona politics. In his divorce agreement, he gave Carol his share in two homes, one in Ponte Vedra, Florida, and another in Alexandria, Virginia, plus around $1,300 a month in alimony and $300 a month in child support.

Well..people do tend to get divorced. Especially after a significant trauma that changes one or both of the couple. More than half of all marriages in the States end in divorce. Should John and Carol McCain have stayed in a failed marriage just because Carol McCain had the misfortune to get in an accident and be injured? Or, are you trying to slyly suggest the McCains divorced because of her accident? Or, are you perhaps just trying to smear McCain a little for your own purposes? If so, can we assume those purposes are partisan in nature?

Since you asked so nicely...the answer is, we don't know. If the McCains divorced because Carol was injured it would reflect somewhat poorly on John McCain. Of course, that is not establish, is it? Not sure it reflects a lack of compassion. It is far more likely to reflect a man whose head was turned by a rich younger woman...

Perhaps the media is not digging too deeply into this issue because its thirty years old, it did not reflect any criminal behavior, and the former Mrs McCain maintains a cordial relationship with her former husband and wont give the leftist media a juicy soundbite...

Fundamentalists and other conservative Christians would argue that those who are in the bonds of holy matrimony are indeed sworn to keep those marriage vows, for better or worse. Divorce is not an option for these folks. That's why they are called "bonds."

So to that degree, the part of his base that he wants to shore up should eschew him. Divorce is not a part of their family values.

The biggest problem with the whole dumping the crippled wife for the hot model is the time. Carol's accident was in 1969. Ten years later (in 1979) he is still married to Carol when he meets Cindy. 10 years.

He was released from captivity on March 14, 1973..

Fair enough. 4 years don't count since he was a soldier and prisoner for that time. We are down to 6 years.

Notice who was missing from the RNC convention? Nancy and Ronnie Jr. Nancy, who ran to Carol's aid following John leaving her..helped her in many ways, with jobs, contacts and finding her a new home. According to Nancy, Carol was callously left behind..

Nancy wouldn't have made it, because of her health and age. The Ron, Jr. I know of isn't a Republican.

Sounds like abandonment to me.