Cindy McCain enroute to Georgia, the other one, with all the Russians

At a fundraiser in Sacramento today, John McCain happened to leak word that his wife, Cindy McCain, is on her way to Georgia.

Finally, she could get in.

The candidate's wife, who's a frequent foreign traveler for her own charitable and humanitarian causes, has been trying to organize a trip into the country since Russia invaded South Ossetia and elsewhere two weeks ago, according to her spokeswoman Melissa Shuffield.

Shuffield said that McCain, who is traveling with the U.N.'s World Food Program, plans to visit with wounded Georgian soldiers and meet with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. John "We are all Georgians" McCain has known the president since the Georgian was a student and has visited that country several times. McCain says they've talked by phone often in recent days.

This is not the first time Cindy McCain has broken off from the campaign trail with her husband to travel the world. This year alone she's been to Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Rwanda and Kosovo with her work on various charities.

But still, it's probably no coincidence that McCain's Georgia visit comes on the heels of newly-anointed Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden's trip there.

The campaign says the timing of the trip had nothing to do with the Democratic National Convention, where Barack Obama's wife, Michelle, will speak today.

McCain plans to return to the U.S. late Wednesday, according to Shuffield. TIME.com has more about the trip here.

In other Georgia news, the White House has announced that Vice President Dick Cheney plans to travel to that troubled country next week.

-- Kate Linthicum

Photo credit: Associated Press

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Comments

[frieda]

The more I read about Cindy and her charity works the more i come to like her. I think she has been prepared to be a First Lady. I wish we could vote for our first ladies too...Obama for President and Cindy for First Lady...why not??? why should we be stuck with Hillary II ?

[scootmandubious]

Frieda wrote:
The more I read about Cindy and her charity works the more i come to like her. I think she has been prepared to be a First Lady. I wish we could vote for our first ladies too...Obama for President and Cindy for First Lady...why not??? why should we be stuck with Hillary II ?
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Frieda, are you kidding me? What is it about Michelle Obama that you specifically don't like? Or is it just a feeling? I give you kudos...you have managed to disparage both Hillary and Michelle in a single sentence. Not easy to do.

As for Cindy McCain, I suspect you might like her less if you read about how John McCain's first marriage ended and how his second one began.

But you probably won't bother to do that.

If you did, you would find it would read more like John Edwards II, or Bill Clinton II.

[Ericmiami]

Wonder what Laura Bush thinks of this trollope?

[Elizabeth Gilmore]

Hello,

This is strictly a photo op. She will be there less than one day, be put in a limosine and visit prescreened "refugees" and "troops."

It is very clear to most neutral observers that it was Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili that made the mistake of invading South Ossetia. The Russians were protecting their own just as Ronald Reagan did in Greneda.

Cindy McCain said,

"There's a whole bunch of things going on right now, and as we begin to move refugees from point A to point B or try to feed refugees who are stuck in pockets around the country,"

Point A to point B? Is that like " I don't know what I'm talking about, but point A and point B sounds like technical jargon. Does this make sense to anyone?"

Just where are "we" moving these refugees "from and to?", and who are "we?". Concerned people want to know.

Pure politics- pathetic.

[Clarence]

Ms. Buffalo Chip goes to Georgia.

Um somebody should tell John McCain that job is why we have a Secretary of State. Is Cindy suppose to be better than Condoleeza Rice now?

[George]

Is it just me, or is this a very unflattering picture of John?

[HowAboutSomeRealNews]

If McCain wins she'll have plenty of opportunities to provide humanitarian aid all around the globe as McCain the "war hero" goes on his militaristic campaign of empire building.

Hey, I've got an idea, in the meantime why doesn't she try going to Gaza, Iraq or Afghanistan. Oh, that's right, humanitarian aid doesn't go to "terrorists".

Oh, what wonderful hypocrisy!

[TruChang]

World Food program? Sure it's not Rice doubling Peace Corps? Rwanda she went with Congressmen flown by the ONE program to open up a Peace Corps, not that her charities pushed to have it done. I'm not sure how the Congressmen wrote off the flight.

What are her charities? If she works with Peace Corps partners like ONE, then my guess is she works with Mercy Corps who wants some of Obama's, I mean Joe's, I mean Congress' billion promised.

Maybe that's how her charity work goes. Agencies lose when they compete with NGOs and charge fees to programs and NGOs for poverty level workers. Maybe Rwanda was a aberration. Maybe there's no NGO money in Georgia yet?

[Janet]

I hope that she doesn't get busted for illegal drugs.

[A Former Republican]

If anyone would care to read about Mr McCain's treatment of his first wife, this article (in which the first wife is interviewed) is the ultimate information: http://tinyurl.com/6gbzhw