While her husband has been in Washington, Cindy McCain has been carving out a life of her own: last week she was in Vietnam to do charity work with Operation Smile. She paused to talk to NEWSWEEK's Holly Bailey. Edited excerpts:

Bailey: I read an interview that you gave The Arizona Republic years ago about how, when you married Senator McCain, you looked forward to being the wife of a naval officer, but instead you were immediately thrust into the public eye. Did you know what you were getting into? Were you prepared for this kind of life?
McCain: I married a Navy captain, and don't get me wrong, I'm not disappointed. But life presents you with many challenges and many different paths. We went from the Navy to politics, and it was the right thing. My husband is good at what he does. I think he will make a remarkable president, but he's also someone who in many ways, I think, is larger than life because he genuinely is true to our country. He has never done anything in his life where he didn't put country first. That's just who he is and what he's about.

But were you always OK with his putting country first? You've spoken before about how you sometimes felt like a single mom because you were in Arizona with the kids while he was in Washington and got home only on the weekends.
It was almost like a deployment. What I told the kids from the time they were little is that their dad was deployed and serving our country in Washington. I don't think they ever felt shortchanged in any big way. I will tell you that there were times when he would come home on Friday, and I'd had a long week with the little ones running around, and I would say, "Welcome home, I'm going out." In some ways, that's the way any mother feels, no matter where their husbands are. But I never personally felt like I was being shortchanged. I never felt that at all.

I've read that you felt very out of place in Washington. And, in fact, when you were first married, people there gave you a hard time because of the age difference between you and Senator McCain, that you struggled to be taken seriously even by some of his own staffers.
Washington is a company town. When I first met John, and the story has been told a lot, we both lied about our ages. But, truthfully, I never even noticed that he was that much older.

And your parents didn't say anything?
No, they really didn't. I had dated men my own age, certainly, but John was just intriguing—so well read and well spoken and interesting. I was spellbound by him when I first met him and still am, in many ways. In Washington back then and maybe even still today, there was a set dynamic on who they think you should be. And I maybe wasn't old enough for them or wasn't cast in a certain mold. I don't know. It's not an issue anymore today. I will say, we are talking about this 28 years later. We obviously did something right.

But you've spoken publicly about how difficult some of those years were. When you were first married, you suffered several miscarriages before Meghan was born — situations that are hard anyway, but your husband wasn't there for some of those times.
Yeah, the first one I was with him in Washington, and he was on the House floor and there were no cell phones in those days, and so it was hard to reach him. But he made it home in time to get me to the hospital. The others, I was in Arizona. For one, he was traveling overseas, and another he was back in Washington. Look, it was hard, but I can only view it as God's plan. I was never bitter about it, but I think he felt guilty because he was torn. But I know it wasn't his fault.

Were you eager to go through another presidential election?
I wasn't as eager as others were. I had to come around. I'm very happy and I support him 100 percent, and I'm onboard onboard. But having done this before, I knew what I was getting into, and I didn't know if I was ready to make the sacrifice again. It's not that I don't believe in my husband, but if I was going to do this, I wanted to do the very best I could and give 100 percent. So I did have to think about it a little bit.

It seems like the election is a lot more personal for you this time, given that you have two sons who are active in the military.
For me, it is personal. We have taught our kids, hopefully by example, that service is the most important thing, the best thing you can do with your life. John is all about his country, all about giving … It's all a part of the fiber of our family.

It must be hard at times to sit in your husband's town halls and hear other mothers talk about their sons who are serving in Iraq or have been lost in the war. You carry a phone with you at all times so that you won't miss a phone call from your sons, but I was standing near you earlier this year when you missed Jimmy calling from Iraq and saw how upset you were.
We don't talk about our sons in the campaign, but I will say from a mother's standpoint, if I can hear his voice, I know he's OK. And I know that's a feeling that thousands upon thousands of other families in this country have felt. It's been good for me to meet other mothers who are going through what I go through, and I have made a lot of lasting friendships through this common bond.

You must have been concerned about a repeat of the dirty politics that happened during the South Carolina primary in 2000. Your husband likes to joke that he slept like a baby — sleeping a few hours before waking up to cry. How easy or not easy was it for you to get past what happened?
It took me longer. It's another lesson I learned from my husband about forgiveness. I have publicly said it was very difficult for me because it was my daughter. I think any mother would agree with me. You can go after me, but stay away from my children. In a sense, I am over it. I can sit here now and say it was just politics, and that's the downside to all this. There are some sides of politics that are not nice. We had elected not to talk about it with her until she was old enough, but unfortunately, I discounted the fact that she might Google herself. So we had to deal with it much sooner than we expected. I have tried to make her understand about politics, but she doesn't understand. She is still very hurt from it. But we're a family, we protect each other and we deal with it.

I believe I read she asked you why President Bush hated her.
Yes, she did. I did the best I could to say it wasn't President Bush. But what she doesn't understand is … "how could people say things like that, because you've always taught me to treat people with respect." It's the lessons you teach in life. She couldn't believe someone would do that. She still can't believe it.

How much do you advise your husband on his campaign? Last year, when the campaign virtually collapsed, people said you played a big role in trying to right the ship.
Look, I am my husband's best friend, best adviser and closest confidant. I am trying to be a good wife. I want what he wants, what is best for him, and, then as now, that's all I want. So if I see something wrong, I am going to tell him about it. If you're asking about guiding policy, I don't do that. If it's about taking care of him and making sure that he's being served well, of course. He's my first concern.

You do realize that if your husband wins, you'll have to move to Washington.
Everybody has been telling me that! [Laughs] Of course. What an honor. To even be in this situation is not anything I ever imagined in my life. Just to be here is remarkable. I can't think that far ahead. Hopefully if we do, it will be a good experience.