According to Cliff Schechter’s new unauthorized biography of John McCain, The Real McCain, the presidential candidate is quite temperamental.

So much so, apparently, that he once dropped the c-bomb on Cindy!

The book claims that during a 1992 campaign, the Arizona Senator called his wife the most revolting term for a certain female body part during a bitter tirade witnessed by three reporters and two staff aides.

“At one point, [Cindy McCain] playfully twirled McCain’s hair and said, ‘You’re getting a little thin up there,’” Schechter writes.

“McCain’s face reddened, and he responded, ‘At least I don’t plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you c*nt.’ Cindy McCain just gave an embarrassed smile and remained silent,” the account says. “The other people in the bus didn’t say anything, either. Everyone was utterly speechless.”

The Real John McCain: It’s not a pretty sight!

Asked to comment on the c-word claims, the McCain campaign denied everything, with aide Tucker Boundes saying: “This is tabloid trash… it has no basis in fact. It calls into question the journalists that report on this.”

Schechter, however, stands by his explosive claims (which are hardly new, and are among a long list of issues surrounding John McCain that we believe deserve closer media scrutiny), telling MomLogic.com:

“First of all, I wouldn’t have put this in my book if I wasn’t 100 percent confident that it was true. I heard this story from multiple sources, and little details matched up exactly when I talked to more than one person. And, although his staff has denied the claims, McCain himself has never denied the story directly, and I would bet you any amount of money that he never will.”

Moreover, Schechter says that the c-word incident is indicative of why American women, and mothers in particular, should be wary of John McCain.

“Look, he called his wife a c-word. If I called my wife that, I think I’d be living under a bridge somewhere - and rightfully so,” he said. “If you don’t want your daughter to grow up in a world where women are callously referred to as c-words, then do your homework on John McCain.”

What do you think? Do you believe John McCain called Cindy McCain this awful term - and would it change your opinion of him if he did?

Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s wife, Cindy McCain, has once again cooked up controversy - by shoplifting a recipe.

And this time, Bill Clinton is also implicated!

Cindy and Bill, along with Michelle Obama, submitted cookie recipes for the 5th Presidential Bake-Off in Family Circle magazine.

It appears, however, that the former president and Cindy McCain swiped their recipes from well known sources, The Huffington Post says.

The July issue of the magazine features a recipe for “Cindy McCain’s Oatmeal-Butterscotch Cookies.”

“They are an absolute must whenever the whole family gets together,” Cindy McCain raves to Family Circle. Mmm hmm.

The only problem? It appears copied from Hershey’s website.

Following the lead of Cindy McCain in cookie-gate is none other than our 42nd President! Although Bill Clinton attributes his oatmeal cookie recipe to a longtime family cook, the recipe is identical to a Betty Crocker recipe.

Really. Again, The Huffington Post published both.

This isn’t the first time Cindy McCain has come under fire in the kitchen - earlier this year, a McCain intern ripped off some of Rachael Ray’s recipes, posting them as “Cindy’s Recipes” on her husband’s campaign site.

See, and people say Michelle Obama is not American enough. At least she can come up with her own recipe … or be stealthy enough not to get caught.

America’s aspiring First Ladies, Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain, have plenty of differences, but also commonalities we haven’t considered.

While on different ends of the political spectrum, the wives of Barack Obama and John McCain are united in their open dislike of rough-edged American politics.

Each actually tried to talk her spouse out of running for the White House.

Both are very attractive and known for an elegant sense of style, lending glamour to their respective husbands’ presidential campaigns.

Cindy McCain photos in the new issue of Vogue showed a laid-back and barefoot woman in size 0 jeans. Obama, who has also appeared in the fashion magazine, has been compared to the epitome of class, former first lady Jackie Kennedy.

Both women provide huge emotional lifts to their spouses during the grueling campaign schedule. Barack Obama’s mood brightens visibly when his wife joins him. Cindy McCain has similar, noticeable effects on her husband.

On the flip side, Michelle Obama’s penchant for outspokenness has - and surely will continue to draw criticism, while Cindy McCain is more likely to be reserved when on the campaign trail with her husband.

McCain’s deferential manner puts her in the company of traditional first ladies such as Nancy Reagan and Laura Bush, while Obama has been such a force on the campaign trail that she earned the nickname “The Closer.”

Everything about Michelle Obama breaks the traditional First Lady mould - from her career-driven mentality to her pop culture impact (see the fist-bump the Obamas shared on the night he clinched the Democratic nomination).

America has had non-traditional first ladies before, like Rosalynn Carter and (yes) Hillary Clinton. Will Michelle Obama be the next?

The wives’ backgrounds also illustrate distinct differences.

Continue reading this article …

A feature and photo essay about Cindy McCain, wife of GOP presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, is featured in Vogue magazine’s June issue.

The 54-year-old beauty - a former rodeo queen and current chair of Hensley & Co. - is known for being demure, meticulously, even a bit uptight.

This photo - Cindy McCain wearing jeans, barefoot, perched in a deck chair on a San Diego patio - seeks to shatter these preconceptions…

In Vogue: Cindy McCain relaxes in the magazine’s June issue.

It’s an interesting contrast to Vogue’s recent photo shoot of the other possible next First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, 44.

The Vogue photos shot by Annie Leibovitz (a.k.a. Miley Cyrus’ enabler) paint a fascinating portrait of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama’s wife…

In Vogue: Michelle Obama, as photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

Formal, classic, preppy Michelle Obama pictures like this one conjure up images of Jackie Kennedy - not a surprise, as many in the media compare Barack Obama to Jackie’s young, charismatic late husband.

The Cindy McCain photos, meanwhile, seem to be an attempt to downplay her Stepford Wife qualities and show us her accessible, laid-back, outdoorsy side.

Just how successful are the Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama Vogue photos at altering the perceptions you have? Do you view them more favorably?

Cindy McCain, the wife of Arizona Senator and Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, celebrates a birthday today. She is 54.

The chair of Hensley & Co., a major beverage distributor, Cindy McCain was a background figure in 2000 but has been ever-present - and much more vocal - in John McCain’s second pursuit of the White House here in 2008.

The McCains have three biological children and a fourth adopted from Asia. Cindy has a Master’s in Special Education from USC and opened a special education teaching career working with disabled children in her native Arizona.

In honor of Mrs. McCain’s birthday, here’s a little gallery of Cindy McCain photos. Click to enlarge, and follow the link for many more!

In 2000, Cindy McCain was mostly a cheerful sidekick to her presidential candidate husband, mostly keeping her positions on policy to herself.

This year, the wife of Sen. John McCain has been back by his side as he seeks the White House for a second time, but even more of a presence.

So ever-present is Cindy McCain that we swear we saw her on reality TV recently… though it turned out to be someone else.

Follow the jump to find out who…

Continue reading this article …

In breaking news, Cindy McCain, wife of Arizona Senator and Republican nominee John McCain, will co-host The View on Monday, April 21.

The appearance comes after a McCain campaign intern lifted Rachael Ray’s recipe for rosemary chicken (as well as other Food Network recipes) and posted them as “Cindy’s Recipes” on the campaign’s official site.

Blaming an intern, the McCain campaign swiftly responded to Recipe-Gate by removing the recipes after the Huffington Post reported the plagiarism.

Knowingly or not, Cindy McCain was caught in a recipe-stealing scandal.

Ray defended Cindy McCain and even invited her, along with her famous husband, to come on her show, saying in a statement: “These recipes are supposed to be accessible to everyone - interns, senators, students and families alike! I am flattered when anyone cooks my food.”

Follow this link for our gallery of Cindy McCain photos.

Always blame the intern John McCain’s campaign said it was a “low-level, unpaid staff debacle” that resulted in a bunch of Food Network recipes being pawned off as Cindy McCain’s on the candidate’s official web page.

Man. First the McCain girls, now this. Is nothing sacred in this world?

As first observed this weekend the Huffington Post, then further lampooned in the graphic below by celebrity news site TMZ, a John McCain intern apparently decided it was time to add the experience of Rachael Ray to the Arizona Senator’s policy team. Hmm. We knew something about her Ahi Tuna was fishy.

Boooooo!

The McCain campaign apologized for the recipe yoinking. They steadfastly stand by the Iraq war and their head-scratching economic policies du jour, however.

A spokesperson said in a statement that Cindy’s “recipes” have been generating “a tremendous amount of public interest” and they’re working on getting this part of the site back up - maybe with actual recipes by Cindy McCain.

She’s always dressed immaculately, has a beautiful smile and comes across as a fun, laid-back, down-to-earth and supportive spouse.

But who is Cindy McCain?

For most of the public, relatively little is known about the wife of Republican presidential nominee and Arizona Sen. John McCain. Here’s a brief rundown …

Her father founded Hensley & Company, one of the largest Anheuser-Busch distributors in the U.S., and today Cindy is the Chairman of the Board.

The company is reportedly worth an estimated $300 million.

Cindy graduated from the University of Southern California with a teaching degree, but meeting John McCain changed her career plans.

Eighteen years her senior, John McCain first met Cindy after separating from his first wife. Their courtship was brief, and they married in 1980. He first ran for - and won - a U.S. House of Representatives seat in her native Arizona in 1982.

They had three children - Jack, James and Meghan McCain - and adopted a fourth child, who they named Bridget, from Bangladesh in 1991.

John and Cindy McCain after he won the GOP nomination March 4.

Cindy McCain has been and remains an active philanthropist, serving on boards of several charitable organizations. But she and her family are, unfortunately, better known for being dragged through the mud in 2000.

During the 2000 primary in South Carolina, which pitted John McCain against then Texas Gov. George W. Bush, there were push-polls and despicable rumors circulated that Bridget was actually McCain’s illegitimate black child.

In the same race, Cindy McCain was portrayed as an addict.

In 1989, Cindy took prescription pain killers for a back injury sustained in a car crash. Four years later, she was still addicted to then.

She admitted her addiction when confronted, then received help and stopped taking the medicine. But she became the target of smears nonetheless.

Cindy McCain has been more active, ongoing and visible in her husband’s presidential campaign in 2007-2008 than the last time around.

For more on the wife of Sen. McCain and potential First Lady, check out our bio section and our growing gallery of Cindy McCain photos.

Below are a collection of photos leading up to, during and following the March 4 primary elections in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont.

The tension, celebration, the heartbreak, the endorsement of Sen. John McCain by George W. Bush - we’ve seen a lot in the past 72 hours.

Here are some highlights, with many more after the jump. Click to enlarge and visit our gallery to search even more photos by politician (or spouse).

Continue reading this article …