It isn't a smear if it's true.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416139/posts
Quote:
"I was very, very concerned about the appearance of the meetings before I went," he said. I'm a big boy. I made the decision." His first real effort to explain came at a Phoenix news conference a week after The Arizona Republic reported that he and his family had vacationed at Mr. Keating's home in the Bahamas in 1984, 1985 and 1986, and had only belatedly reimbursed the developer's company for flights there on the corporate jet.
and
Senator McCain said he was unaware that some of the personal flights had not been paid for until Mr. Keating's accountants brought them to his attention in March 1989. He made the reimbursements in May and June.
Source: Rasky, S.F. (1989, Dec. 21). To Senator McCain, the Savings and Loan Affair Is Now a Personal Demon. The New York Times, p. A24.
Quote:
Mr. McCain, who of the five Senators was the closest socially to Mr. Keating, would travel with the businessman to his vacation home in the Bahamas, where they swam, snorkeled and went fishing. But he did not repay more than $13,000 to American Continental until 1989, when he said the company notified him that the bill was due.
The Senator insisted that his payments were tardy because of lax personal accounting, and he denied that he intended to get free trips.
Source: Berke, R.L. (1991, Jan. 5). 2 Senators Deny Impropriety In Dealings With Keating. The New York Times, p. A6.
Quote:
"I have done this kind of thing many, many times," said one of the Senators, John McCain, Republican of Arizona, who in an interview likened the Lincoln case to his efforts "helping the little lady who didn't get her Social Security."
Source: Berke, R.L. (1989, Nov. 5). Helping constituents or themselves? The New York Times, p. A24.
Wonder if Johnny is still suckling at Gorge Soros teat?
http://www.slate.com/id/1004633/
Here’s a pretty good article on the subject.
http://www.slate.com/id/1004633/
When I first read it I came away with the idea he got his first lear-jet trip from Keating in 1982. That would be seven years before be paid it back in 1989. You may be right about it only being five.
What’s undeniable is that McCain didn’t pay back the funds for these trips and vacations until it became obvious that the gratuities would become public during the Keating hearings.
He was required to report the favors and didn’t for five to seven years. He was also the biggest benefactor of Keating derived (donated outright or fund-raised from family or staff) cash.