dissappeared

photo from the AP archives It is not any secret to anyone who has lived a bit of life that there are many men who may be called 'creatures of habit', although it may be more correct to call them addicts to an archetype. You know them, I'm sure. Their second wife is just like their first; they have affairs with carbon-copies of their spouse; their next girlfriend will look just like their current one. Without delving into the psychology, let's just say that many men who fit into this mold. When the John McCain/Vicki Iseman story broke a couple of days ago, I was fascinated by the similarity between Ms. Iseman an Ms. McCain. I do have a rule of evaluation for these matters, however, that has served me well - One time is a coincidence, two times is a trend. This prompted me into launching a search for the first Ms. McCain - Carol Shepp. A simple task, I thought. To my great surprise, I found that she barely existed online. Yes, she is mentioned in McCain biographies, but she exists in miniature. There are no photos. There are no bios. Here is what is widely known about her. Carol Shepp was a model from Philadelphia (no modeling photos available online). John McCain married her in 1965, and adopted her two children. In 1966, they had a child of their own, Sidney. In 1969, while McCain was locked up in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, Carol was in a near-death auto accident, going face first through the windshield. She emerged four inches shorter by the time John got home, and gained a "good deal of weight." (again, no pictures). Contrary to what you may assume, John McCain did not run right out on Carol after her disfigurement. That is considered poor form in the military, and at the time, he could have been discharged for such conduct. Instead, John had affairs, the most meaningful of which was with Cindy Lou Hensley. He stayed with Carol until 1980, when he left the military, before leaving her for the wealthy (Anheuser-Busch money) 25 year old Cindy. Carol was 'surprised' at the split, but never accusatory. She got a pretty nice settlement for the times, considering she did not contest the divorce or attend any of the proceedings. Two years later, with help and support from the Hensley family, McCain was in Congress. Shepp later worked in the Reagan White House, and surfaced briefly in 2000 (saying she supported McCain's presidential run), but has led a very low profile life. Still, as a former model, former White House employee, and former wife of a well known Senator and two time presidential candidate, the lack of readily available photos and bio information is beyond coincidence. There has apparently been a very successful campaign to erase her. Why? To remove that third data point if things had ended differently with Vicki Iseman? Forget the affair, if there was one. Perhaps even Cindy McCain would see the irony in John's infatuation with a younger woman. The bigger story is McCain's relationship with lobbyists. It's pretty clear that John McCain is a one trick pony when it comes to his appreciation of female pulchritude. And it's also true that lobbyists, as a breed, are much like spies: If they know your weakness, they'll use it against you.