First, when the McCain campaign was on the brink of going bust last summer, Cindy helpfully provided use of her corporate jet to the campaign. Without a functional FEC to close a legal loophole, the McCain campaign got away with reimbursing only the cost of equivalent first-class tickets instead of the full charter rate, likely saving a million dollars or more.
This, despite John McCain swearing off corporate jets altogether, and claiming he wouldn't exploit his wife's wealth:
Last summer, just before starting to use his wife's plane, Mr. McCain was quoted in a newspaper report as saying that he did not plan to tap her substantial wealth to keep his bid for the Republican presidential nomination going."I have never thought about it," Mr. McCain was quoted by The Arizona Republic as saying at a July appearance. "I would never do such a thing, so I wouldn't know what the legalities are."
But even after broken pledges and clear use of Cindy's personal wealth to save her husband's shot at the White House - she still curtly refused any financial transparency.
All in the past, maybe? A struggling campaign cuts a few corners and goes back on its word just to survive a crowded primary?
Nope. The Times reports today that the campaign is still using Cindy's jet:
Cindy McCain said Thursday that she would never release her personal income tax filing even if her husband, Senator John McCain, was elected president. But Federal Aviation Administration records indicate that she appears to be using her personal wealth to help his campaign, through the continued use of her corporate jet.
...
According to public records, the campaign has continued to use the plane, even as Mr. McCain, of Arizona, became the presumed Republican nominee and his campaign's finances have improved. In late April, for instance, the plane landed in Selma and Birmingham, Ala., at the same time he was there as part of his tour of impoverished areas. It also landed last month in New Orleans just before Mr. McCain's appearances there.And, according to aviation agency records, it landed at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, just outside New York City, on Wednesday evening, apparently to pick up Mrs. McCain, who was in New York with her husband for campaign events and interviews.
The plane left Teterboro on Thursday morning en route to Reagan National Airport outside Washington, where Mrs. McCain had a campaign-related event, records indicate.
Cindy McCain likes to dodge this problem by reminding us that she's "not the candidate." But she's certainly acting as a campaign surrogate, jetting from event to event. And without her corporate plane, the campaign would be forced to either pay for a charter jet itself (at full cost) or reduce her appearances as a surrogate. Either way, her wealth brings significant advantage to her husband's campaign for the Presidency.
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