Let the games begin!
The Times has come out with an amazing piece of thin reporting on a supposed McCain “scandal.” Apparently The Times has been working on a hit piece about McCain involving a female aide named Vicki Iseman for a few months now. Although there is absolutely no proof that there was a romantic angle to their relationship they use plenty of innuendo and the word of two former associates who felt there was something going on but couldn’t prove it.
Thats some thin stuff.
Mr. Black said Mr. McCain and Ms. Iseman were friends and nothing more. But in 1999 she began showing up so frequently in his offices and at campaign events that staff members took notice. One recalled asking, “Why is she always around?”…
In interviews, the two former associates said they joined in a series of confrontations with Mr. McCain, warning him that he was risking his campaign and career. Both said Mr. McCain acknowledged behaving inappropriately and pledged to keep his distance from Ms. Iseman. The two associates, who said they had become disillusioned with the senator, spoke independently of each other and provided details that were corroborated by others…
[McCain advisor John] Weaver added that the brief conversation [he had with Iseman] was only about “her conduct and what she allegedly had told people, which made its way back to us.” He declined to elaborate…
Mr. McCain said that the relationship was not romantic and that he never showed favoritism to Ms. Iseman or her clients. “I have never betrayed the public trust by doing anything like that,” he said. He made the statements in a call to Bill Keller, the executive editor of The New York Times, to complain about the paper’s inquiries…
In late 1999, Ms. Iseman asked Mr. McCain’s staff to send a letter to the commission to help Paxson, now Ion Media Networks, on another matter. Mr. Paxson was impatient for F.C.C. approval of a television deal, and Ms. Iseman acknowledged in an e-mail message to The Times that she had sent to Mr. McCain’s staff information for drafting a letter urging a swift decision.
Mr. McCain complied. He sent two letters to the commission, drawing a rare rebuke for interference from its chairman.
Word of this story hit the streets in December and after two full months this is as far as they could get. In the earlier version Drudge had this info:
The drama involves a woman lobbyist who may have helped to write key telecom legislation. The woman in question has retained counsel and strongly denies receiving any special treatment from McCain.
But nothing about this writing of legislation in the current story so I suppose that was thrown out the window due to lack of evidence. But they still went with a story because of two associates gut feelings.
There is one thing to note tho, apparently TNR forced the Times hand with a little blackmail….Carl Cameron:
Link: sevenload.com
And here is Bob Bennett, someone who would never be called a neo-con, defending McCain:
Link: sevenload.com
Does anyone believe the left wouldn’t be going bananas if a MSM outfit had run a story so thin about Obama? They would have a field day.
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