MCCAIN HAD MONTHS LONG AFFAIR BEFORE DIVORCING WIFE

<http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-divorce11-2008jul11,0,
6546861.story?ln=enus>

Richard A. Serrano and Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times -
Outside her Bel-Air home, Nancy Reagan stood arm in arm with John McCain and
offered a significant -- but less than exuberant -- endorsement. "Ronnie and
I always waited until everything was decided, and then we endorsed," the
Republican matriarch said in March. "Well, obviously this is the nominee of
the party." They were the only words she would speak during the five-minute
photo op.

In a written statement, she described McCain as "a good friend for over 30
years." But that friendship was strained in the late 1970s by McCain's
decision to divorce his first wife, Carol, who was particularly close to the
Reagans, and within weeks marry Cindy Hensley, the young heiress to a
lucrative Arizona beer distributorship.

The Reagans rushed to help Carol, finding her a new home in Southern
California with the family of Reagan aide Edwin Meese III and a series of
political and White House jobs to ease her through that difficult time.

McCain, who is about to become the GOP nominee, has made several statements
about how he divorced Carol and married Hensley that conflict with the
public record.

In his 2002 memoir, "Worth the Fighting For," McCain wrote that he had
separated from Carol before he began dating Hensley.

"I spent as much time with Cindy in Washington and Arizona as our jobs would
allow," McCain wrote. "I was separated from Carol, but our divorce would not
become final until February of 1980."

An examination of court documents tells a different story. McCain did not
sue his wife for divorce until Feb. 19, 1980, and he wrote in his court
petition that he and his wife had "cohabited" until Jan. 7 of that year --
or for the first nine months of his relationship with Hensley.

Although McCain suggested in his autobiography that months passed between
his divorce and remarriage, the divorce was granted April 2, 1980, and he
wed Hensley in a private ceremony five weeks later. McCain obtained an
Arizona marriage license on March 6, 1980, while still legally married to
his first wife.

Until McCain filed for divorce, the Reagans and their inner circle assumed
he was happily married, and they were stunned to learn otherwise, according
to several close aides. . .

In a recent interview, McCain said he did not want to revisit the breakup of
his marriage. "I have a very good relationship with my first wife," he said.
In his autobiography, he wrote: "My marriage's collapse was attributable to
my own selfishness and immaturity. The blame was entirely mine."

Tucker Bounds, a McCain campaign spokesman, said: "Of course we will not
comment on the breakup of the senator's first marriage, other than to note
that the senator has always taken responsibility for it."

Carol McCain did not respond to a request for an interview.

About all she has ever said is this to McCain biographer Robert Timberg:
"John was turning 40 and wanting to be 25 again."

After leaving the White House, Carol McCain worked in press relations in the
Washington area, retiring about five years ago after working for the
National Soft Drink Assn. She now lives in Virginia Beach, Va., and has not
remarried. She has two sons from an earlier marriage: Andy, a vice president
at Cindy McCain's beer distributorship, and Doug, a commercial airline
pilot.




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