The New York Times may have succeeded in doing for John McCain what he couldn't do for himself: rally the right around the Senator in defense against a piece of hit journalism. Today, the gray lady is insinuating, pretty strongly, that McCain had an inappropriate relationship with a younger, female lobbyist.
A female lobbyist had been turning up with him at fund-raisers, visiting his offices and accompanying him on a client’s corporate jet. Convinced the relationship had become romantic, some of his top advisers intervened to protect the candidate from himself — instructing staff members to block the woman’s access, privately warning her away and repeatedly confronting him, several people involved in the campaign said on the condition of anonymity.
When news organizations reported that Mr. McCain had written letters to government regulators on behalf of the lobbyist’s client, the former campaign associates said, some aides feared for a time that attention would fall on her involvement.
Mr. McCain, 71, and the lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, 40, both say they never had a romantic relationship. But to his advisers, even the appearance of a close bond with a lobbyist whose clients often had business before the Senate committee Mr. McCain led threatened the story of redemption and rectitude that defined his political identity.
The McCain camp, not accepting the old saying about not picking a fight with those who buy ink by the barrel, promises to go to war against the NYT.
If that is all there is to the story, the scandal is probably going to fizzle and die over the next weeks. But scandals often have a life of their own, and who knows who - or what - may be crawling out of the woodwork over the next long campaign months. I doubt the NYT would drop this bombshell without having at least some more ammo for the war. His opponents know one thing: without his solid, impeccable personal integrity, McCain doesn't have that much going for him in this campaign.
PS: Whatever one may say about John McCain, unlike Bill Clinton, he can't be faulted for his choice in women...
8:29:45 PM 
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