NY Times runs Questionable Piece Alleging McCain’s Improper Relationship with Lobbiest
Posted on February 20, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized
The New York Times should be embarrassed about the pitiful piece that will run in tomorrows paper accusing John McCain of engaging in an improper relationship with a lobbyist some eight years ago.  Yes, the article raises questions about the senator’s ethics and whether he provided his alleged mistress any preferential treatment or disclosed a free ride on her corporate jet, but come on; this piece is thinner than Mary-Kate Olson.
What troubles me is that even with shocking little evidence The Times are going forward with a piece they supposedly have been sitting on for many weeks. The article cites unnamed former McCain staffers who first contacted the Times at the end of 2007, well before the Iowa caucus. Who knows what axe these former staffers had to grind with McCain or what their motive would be for derailing the senators nomination, matters that didn’t seem to concern The Times.
If I were a conspiracy minded sort I would think that perhaps the anti-McCain faction of the right wing, a group that has been disgruntled with the Maverick since he sponsored the ethics reform bill–McCain Feingold, had a hand in this. At the time The Times was contacted questions about McCain’s ethics and conflicts of interest could have still derailed McCain’s candidacy.
And then there is the issue of the articles timing and why The Times kept it in the bottom drawer for so long. If this story is worth running now and to be believed why not give the voters a chance to utilize this information when placing their votes? If there are questions as to the story’s legitimacy and whether it was worth being a game changer then it shouldn’t be run now, at least not until they can get more sources to go on record.
What sort of legs will the story have? It depends on whether conservatives use this story as an excuse to sabatoge McCain’s candidacy or whether a backlash develops against The Times and the perception that the “liberal media” is once again attacking a Republican candidate, a development that would benefit McCain.  We will get our first look at the McCain war room in action as they deal with their first real crisis of this election season. It will be interesting to see how Huckabee plays this. He was waiting for an act of god to justify his staying in the race and now perhaps he has gotten it.
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