http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/us/politics/21mccain.html
So I turn on the TV today to find out that the New York Times ran a 3000 word story today alleging that John McCain, the presumptive Republican Party nominee for President, was involved in a romantic affair with Vicki Iseman, a Washington lobbyist. While this is extremely troubling (and debilitating for his campaign) if true, at this point it seems best to withhold judgement given the lack of details that have surfaced thus far. The NYT article was run largely based on the claims of anonymous sources, and given the fact that there has been little corroboration yet, it is too early to tell the validity of the story. If the accusations prove to be true, I will be first in line to express my disappointment for Sen. McCain, but at this point there is much more information that needs to be gathered.
What is also concerning to me and what seems to be bringing this story down is the nature in which the article was run. Rather than focusing on the possible lobbyist ties (which are very valid campaign criticisms), the NYT led with the "juicy" topic, the sex. While this part of the story may or may not be true, the absence of a rock-solid case simply has emboldened the Rush Limbaugh's of the world. It has fired up neo-conservatives and given them all the more reason to attack the NYT. This is frustrating for those of us who see the NYT as one of the best news sources in the country. We cannot defend such media sources nearly as well when they have the appearance of tabloid paparazzo's chasing political elites around to capture the secrets of their private lives. My only hope, in this sense, is that they do have enough factual basis for this story, and their claims are true.
On the other, if the NYT is correct, it will be disheartening to see someone that has stood for reform and "maverick" politics brought down as simply another public official in the pockets of lobbyists. Sen. McCain, as is well known, has made a career on being a devoted public servant and beyond that, a good and decent person. He has given more to the country than most people would be willing to offer. Despite my disagreements with him on a number of policy issues, he has always been someone that I look at with respect as a person and a professional. For this reason, I hope the claims of the NYT turn out to be false.
In short, it is too early to make judgements on this story. We need to wait until all the facts come to light. Only then can the public accurately decifer how much this story should affect Sen. McCain's reputation.
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4 comments:
Keep your eyes on The Washington Post over the next few days. They've already been digging for more details and verification of facts, and it looks like they've been confirming much of what the NYT has reported thus far.
It's just a funny image -- John McCain, 70+, robbing the cradle.
The story would be so much better if there was more context in the first few paragraphs. They lead with the sex scandal and say that McCain and Iseman deny it, but when they finally get back to it (page 4), they show there are even more conflicting sources.
Some advisers say it was a problem and others say it wasn't. They should have said that up front instead of printing denials from the two parties since obviously they'll deny it.
Overall, the focus of the article is on his questionable ethics record and how he still has trouble figuring out what is right and wrong. These are valid criticisms.
Unfortunately, the way they presented the story was completely without tact.
I agree with Erik regarding the lack of tact. It's pretty pathetic that in our country whether or not someone had an affair is going to be the number one attention grabber & the number one reason they are unqualified to be our next president. I wish we could instead focus on the real issues at stake...
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