Are the McCains enablers for each other?
 

Ok...this is really not a funny 'ha ha' article or an 'I told you so' article...but it is interesting read of how both of the McCains who have well documented (yet to some degree, private) issues and how they translate thru their body language..This explains a bit to me why they seem so 'distant' to each other while on the other hand the Obamas are so affectionate. Please take a read...

The Hug Moment: Body-Talk Of A Devitalized Relationship
After the last presidential debate we had many requests to give our interpretation of the awkward "hug moment" at the end. From a body language perspective, the moment revealed a great deal about the McCain marriage. If you have time, go back and look frame-by-frame at the end of the debate, when the presidential candidates hugged their spouses. Here is a sequence of still shots that capture to a degree some of the points we want to discuss.
Take note of the perfunctory hug, stiffness and lack of contact between the McCains, and compare those bits of body-talk with the way Michelle and Barack Obama greeted each other with smiles and a long hug. They were still hugging when John McCain tried awkwardly to connect with Mrs. Obama. The McCain hug looked as stiff as a puppet show, while the Obama hug looked as natural and graceful as a ballet.

A Heroic Lack Of Awareness
John McCain has managed to keep his mental health records concealed, so it's not possible to know whether he is telling the truth about having no mental or emotional scars from his time behind bars. As always, though, his body-talk tells the real story. The array of body language we've commented on in other posts is a sad tale of poorly concealed anger and deeply hidden fear.

John McCain claims not to have known of his wife's drug addiction, even at a time when she was supporting her habit by stealing drugs from a charity organization. If that's true--if he actually didn't know about his wife's addiction--he demonstrates a lack of awareness that is panoramic. How do you fail to notice that your partner is stoned for months at a time? In John McCain's case, there's a simple answer and a more complex one. The simple answer is that he is a fellow-addict, known for his deep affection for the gambling table, as well as ties to the gambling industry. His addiction is the adrenalin-charged game of craps, a passion that is rumored to have cost him money and rifts in his marriage (Cindy being the one with the deep pockets who always had to bail him out.) When two addicts are married, they make an unconscious contract between them: If you agree not to confront me on my addiction, I'll agree not to confront you on yours.

More to follow here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathly..._b_137042.html

I guess it's kind of interesting, but it seems like the two had their conclusion already in mind when they wrote the article. Not every couple is all that affectionate in public, and that's especially so for older couples.

It doesn't seem to be much of an issue, although the authors seem pretty hung up on any possible mental health issues that McCain may or may not have.

The fact that it's on the Huffington Post doesn't exactly give it much credibility as any sort of objective analysis, but interesting nonetheless.

You lost me when I saw the link.

I don't know what I think of the article... people feel/act differently about PDA. Some psychologists would also argue that a relationship that displays too much PDA would suggest insecurities.

Exactly - I think they were trying to make a point about McCain, and did it through the vehicle of interpreting the marital relationship.

Remember the Gore kiss?

OMGOMG!!shift1!! HES NOT A ROBOTTT!!

That's why I said it was 'interesting' not objective.

One other thing that i personally noted in observing them both.

- since Palin was named VP, we have seen a lot more of Cindy.

- for some odd reason, I always seem to see Cindy either behind John or walking off at a distance...but that is just me....

That would make two of us.

Definitely, I didn't say that you claimed it to be objective. But, I don't think it "explains" a lot either - they have a belief about McCain's mental health/addiction issues, started with that conclusion, and tried to build and argument around it about marital issues.

It just seemed to me like a sloppy way to make an argument: a lot of speculation with the conclusion already firmly in mind.