Posted on 02/20/2008 11:43:01 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
NOW THAT HE'S SECURED NOMINATION: NYT DOWNLOADS ON MCCAIN
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WASHINGTON Early in Senator John McCains first run for the White House eight years ago, waves of anxiety swept through his small circle of advisers.
A female lobbyist had been turning up with him at fund-raisers, visiting his offices and accompanying him on a clients 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 womans 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 lobbyists 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.
This was the plan all along. Build him up, get the nomination, then destroy him for either Obama or Hillary. They were NEVER going to support a Republican.
For McCain, Self-Confidence on Ethics Poses Its Own Risk [McCain had an affair?]
Posted by Wallaby
Kudos to Drudge for his Headline....
smart and dirty
Bennett Slams NY Times Hit Job on McCain
Vicki Iseman in middle of McCain lobbyist scandal
For McCain, Self-Confidence on Ethics Poses Its Own Risk [McCain had an affair?]
Feb. 20, 1998?
yes, but why this early
This is a dud. This will be ancient history by November.
You haven’t been paying attention long enough.
Blue Dress Hit the Presses.
Matt unleashed the story.
Dateline Feb 20, 1998.
Pinch’s Payback.
This is just the first salvo. Probably not even their best stuff. They can drag this out forever, and bring it up every 6 months with “new evidence”. A death of a thousand pricks. And yes, I meant the pun too!
Yikes ....my screw up...I wasn’t concentrating very well...
On the merits of an affair, likely. On the issue of politcal and legal interactions with the woman in question, perhaps not.
This may get ugly.
This was pointed out to me someone else. I’m not a supporter of McCain, so take this for what it’s worth, I don’t believe the affair is going to turn out to be the most serious issue associated with ths.
here’s some good ammo.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33270
to counter back...
Hadn’t thought of that!!!
Well McCain has never really been known to use his brain fo thinking.
February 21, 2008
John McCain forced to deny romantic link with lobbyist
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The timing of the allegations comes as Mr McCain had begun to build bridges with his party's conservative base and as the Republican establishment have rallied behind him in anticipation of a general election fight against either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.
The potentially most damaging allegations contained in the article centre on Mr McCain's reported conflicts of interests in the areas of political funding and lobbying. He has built a reputation as a scourge of the excesses of both but is accused of several instances of hypocrisy.
John McCain And The Telecom Lobbyist
By Kevin Drum
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(Political Animal) JOHN McCAIN AND THE TELECOM LOBBYIST....OK, let's dive into the John McCain story. According to a heavily padded piece in the New York Times today, several of Mr. Straight Talk's aides became concerned during the 2000 campaign that he was spending a wee bit too much time with an attractive, 32-year-old telecom lobbyist named Vicki Iseman:
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Josh Marshall thinks there's more here than meets the eye:
At the moment it seems to me that we have a story from the Times that reads like it's had most of the meat lawyered out of it. And a lot of miscellany and fluff has been packed in where the meat was.Radar reports that the Times, which has been chasing this story at least since December, only published now because it was forced into it:
....I find it very difficult to believe that the Times would have put their chin so far out on this story if they didn't know a lot more than they felt they could put in the article, at least on the first go....Equally telling [] is the McCain camp's response and their clear unwillingness to address or deny any the key charges of the piece. (Read the statement closely. It's all bluster.)
Michael Isikoff of Newsweek and Michael Calderone of Politico were two of the reporters at rival publications who were chasing the Times story. Calderone was particularly well informed about the details of the Times investigation.Over at Politico, though, Calderone says it was the New Republic who forced their hand:
This was as predictable as the Sun rising in the East! Anyone who was surprised by this is a complete fool.
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