Hmm, one thing that struck me was that in the aftermath of the Keating Five scandal that implicated Senator McCain that an influx of women like Pelosi, Warren, Boxer, and Feinstein rose through the ranks to fill Congressional positions.

If McCain did fake his death and disappear, it's interesting that he chose to do so just before his 82th birthday.

About John McCain
Born: Aug. 29, 1936.
Birthplace: Panama Canal Zone.

John McCain gets into 'a hell of a mess' with the Keating Five scandal
Dan Nowicki and Bill Muller, The Republic | azcentral.com
Apr 2, 2018
Click here

[snip]

As a war hero and U.S. senator, John McCain's life has been chronicled in pictures.

There are grainy mug shots of a young McCain, printed in U.S. newspapers after his jet was shot down over North Vietnam. There are black-and-white images of his return, grinning and waving.

In happier times, there is McCain holding his newborn daughter while his wife, Cindy, smiles from her hospital bed.

But it is an innocent vacation picture that carries the reminder of the scandal that threatened his political career.

In the picture, taken in the Bahamas, McCain is seated on a bandstand while wearing an outrageous straw party hat. Next to him on the dais sits Charles Keating III, son of developer Charles H. Keating Jr.

McCain called the Keating scandal "my asterisk." Over the years, his opponents failed to turn it into a period.

It all started in March 1987. Charles H. Keating Jr., the flamboyant developer and anti-porn crusader, needed help. The government was poised to seize Lincoln Savings and Loan, a freewheeling subsidiary of Keating's American Continental Corp.

As federal auditors examined Lincoln, Keating was not content to wait and hope for the best. He had spread a lot of money around Washington, and it was time to call in his chits.

One of his first stops was Sen. Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz.

The state's senior senator was one of Keating's most loyal friends in Congress, and for good reason. Keating had donated generously to DeConcini's campaigns. At one point, DeConcini even pushed Keating for ambassador to the Bahamas, where Keating owned a luxurious vacation home.

Now Keating had a job for DeConcini. He wanted him to organize a meeting with regulators to deliver a message: Get off Lincoln's back. Eventually, DeConcini would set up a meeting with five senators and the regulators. One of them was McCain.

McCain already knew Keating well. His ties to the home builder dated to 1981, when the two men met at a Navy League dinner where McCain spoke.

After the speech, Keating walked up to McCain and told him that he, too, was a Navy flier and that he greatly respected McCain's war record. He met McCain's wife and family. The two men became friends.

Charlie Keating always took care of his friends, especially those in politics. McCain was no exception.