The New York Times ran a story today on an alleged affair between Senator John McCain and a lobbyist. And there’s an implication that she might have gotten extra favors out of this deal as well.
Well this is Senator McCain’s denial of the Times story from National Review via Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker:
“
It is a shame that the New York Times has lowered its standards to engage in a hit and run smear campaign. John McCain has a 24-year record of serving our country with honor and integrity. He has never violated the public trust, never done favors for special interests or lobbyists, and he will not allow a smear campaign to distract from the issues at stake in this election.
“Americans are sick and tired of this kind of gutter politics, and there is nothing in this story to suggest that John McCain has ever violated the principles that have guided his career.”
Anyone else worried about this denial? Hello? He doesn’t deny having an affair with the woman.
Those words used by the campaign were very carefully chosen.
Is there still time for Fred Thompson to come back? I mean maybe it’s just me but for me -if you’re going to lie to your wife and dishonor your family what are you going to do to the taxpayers?
One last thing – you have to love the Times waiting until McCain sewed up the Republican nomination before throwing this bomb.
Update: McCain is now denying that he and the woman are more than “friends.”
February 21, 2008 at 3:52 pm
That was the Times’ plan all along: to get the weakest Republican nominated and then to destroy him in order to secure victory for the Democrats. What a surprise.
February 21, 2008 at 7:50 pm
I’m not so sure you’re take is accurate; here’s the view of John Weaver , who notes that the NYT article is a hack job, that part of their supposed corroboration of the gossip about an allegedly budding romance between McCain and lobbyist Vicki Iseman was his alleged intervention to stop it. He says he told the Times that his intervention had nothing to do with an affair:
“The New York Times asked for a formal interview and I said no and asked for written questions. The Times knew of my meeting with Ms. Iseman, from sources they didn’t identify to me, and asked me about that meeting. I did not inform Senator McCain that I asked for a meeting with Ms. Iseman.
Her comments, which had gotten back to some of us, that she had strong ties to the Commerce Committee and his staff were wrong and harmful and I so informed her and asked her to stop with these comments and to not be involved in the campaign. Nothing more and nothing less.[“]
It seems that Iseman had bragged about her connections to the committee in order to expand her client list. Weaver heard about it, and told her to lay off, or she’d get frozen out.
So I’m not sure that Senator McCain had the sordid past the NYT would have us think!
February 21, 2008 at 9:18 pm
I hope that there is no “connection” between the two. I was just pointing out that his initial comment didn’t deny the innuendo of an extramarital affair.