Potential First Lady Cindy McCain is vanitized!

Mrs. McCain drives a Lexus vanitized with an Arizona vanity plate that says, "MS BUD." The vanity plate honors Mrs. McCain's late father, Jim Hensley, who founded Arizona's biggest Budweiser beer distributorship.

Like the other Americans who have vanitized 9.3 million motor vehicles, Mrs. McCain uses her vanity plate to tell a great story. The MS BUD vanity plate celebrates the McCain family's successful Budweiser distributorship, which has enabled Mrs. McCain not just to live well, but to do good: she has used her "beer money" to aid numerous charities, including organizations that provide medical care to the poorest of people in the poorest of countries.

On a medical aid trip to Bangladesh, Mrs. McCain visited one of Mother Teresa's orphanages, where she agreed to take a young orphan back to the United States for an operation; the McCains later adopted that child, and named her Bridget.

Using only 5 characters on her vanity plate, Mrs. McCain has told an inspiring story of empathy, love. and hope.

I object to the political attacks on Mrs. McCain that have characterized her as "elitist" because she is vanitized. Vanity plates aren't elitist: 39 states charge $40 or less for a new vanity plate; Arizona charges $25.

I wonder what message Michelle Obama would choose for an Illinois vanity plate.

-- Stefan Lonce