PHOENIX, June 22 (UPI) -- Analysts say likely Republican presidential nominee John McCain faces an ethical dilemma because of his wife's ownership of a major U.S. beer wholesaler.
As a U.S. senator, McCain, R-Ariz., has recused himself from voting on issues involving alcohol regulation because his wife and her family control Hensley & Co. of Phoenix, one of the nation's biggest beer wholesaling operations. But that wouldn't be an option for him as president, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.
"You can't run a beer company out of the White House," Samuel Popkin, a political science professor at the University of California San Diego told the Times. "You can't run any company from the White House. McCain is leaving a live hand grenade on the table, a major embarrassment."
Records show Hensley & Co. is major player in the National Beer Wholesalers Association, which operates the nation's seventh-largest political action committee and has gone up against activists on a hotly debated proposal to require alcohol content labeling on beer.
The McCain campaign issued a statement to the Times, saying "any decisions going forward will be made when John McCain wins the election and takes office, and not before."
