McCain Camp Takes On the New York Times
By Glenn Kessler
WAYNE, Mich. -- The McCain campaign launched a broadside against the New York Times today, saying the story about the Arizona senator's relationship with a female lobbyist fell short of the newspaper's standards.
"This is much more a story about journalism than it is about John McCain," said senior adviser Steve Schmidt, speaking to reporters as McCain flew here from Ohio.
"Obviously, we were very angry," he said. "When we read the story, my initial reaction was that it was something you would see in the National Enquirer, not the New York Times."
Schmidt said the fact that the Times was examining McCain's relationship with Vicki Iseman was an "open secret in Washington for many, many months." He asserted that the newspaper rushed the story into print because it was worried about a pending article in the New Republic about an internal debate about whether to run the story.
Schmidt said the New Republic reporter also called the McCain campaign, saying the Times story had been twice killed and that there were divisions over it between editors and reporters.
Schmidt said that "in the post-Jayson Blair, post-Judith Miller world," the Times went through a "painful period of self-examination" and announced a new policy on the use of anonymous quotes.
Blair was fired after he was found to have made up many facts in his articles, while Miller resigned in the wake of the criminal probe of a White House leak that led to the conviction of White House aide I. Lewis Libby.
Schmidt asserted: "What happened here is a very quick decision was made: Do we publish a story that we know doesn't meet our standards or do we allow a news organization to once again cast a light on goings-on and dysfunction in our newsroom?"
Before Schmidt spoke, Times Executive Editor Bill Keller issued a statement saying the Times publishes stories when they are ready.
While The Washington Post published its own version of the story, focused on concerns McCain aides had about the relationship with Iseman, Schmidt said the Post article was the result of the "feeding frenzy" launched by the Times.
"The New York Times instigated this story," he said. "Clearly, The Washington Post decided to follow on to the New York Times."
Schmidt insisted the campaign was determined to move on from the story, believing it only had legs as a study of journalistic ethics. "It is going to play badly for the New York Times," he said. "John McCain will turn out fine."
Posted at 1:47 PM ET on Feb 21, 2008
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Comments
Posted by: ericp331 | February 21, 2008 4:06 PM | Report abuse
As long as name "Not MONICA" it is OK for a Republican Senator to Commit Adultary, while espousing "Family Values"?
But Real ISSUE is Working For LOBBIESTS, sleeping with them, and Writing Senate Letters to FCC pushig For APPROVAL of Telecom Companies Vicki "Worked For"?
What does Lie-berman Know? Was he sleeping between them?
McCain says report suggesting inappropriate relationship "not true" ... McCain says report is "not true"
John McCain emphatically denied a romantic relationship with a female telecommunications lobbyist on Thursday and said a report by The New York Times suggesting favoritism for her clients is "not true."
"I've served this nation honorably for more than half a century, Blah, Blah..." said McCain, "At no time have I ever done anything that would betray the public trust."
"I intend to move on," he added.
McCain described the woman in question, lobbyist Vicki Iseman, as a friend.
The newspaper quoted anonymous aides as saying they had urged McCain and Iseman to stay away from each other prior to his failed presidential campaign in 2000. In its own follow-up story, The Washington Post quoted longtime aide John Weaver, who split with McCain last year, as saying he met with lobbyist Iseman and urged her to steer clear of McCain.
Weaver told the Times he arranged the meeting before the 2000 campaign after "a discussion among the campaign leadership" about Iseman.
But McCain said he was unaware of any such conversation, and denied that his aides ever tried to talk to him about his interactions with Iseman.
Posted by: rmcnicoll | February 21, 2008 3:39 PM | Report abuse
ZZZZZZZZZZZ
Two words:
Treason Times.
LOL! ;~)
Posted by: rat-the | February 21, 2008 3:15 PM | Report abuse
This will be the first of a long steady and increasingly louder drumbeat on McCains mis-steps since being in office. He's been rumored for years to be a fillandering guy, dumped his wife who stood by him while a POW and remarried a young rich girl who's family had the connections he needed to run in Az. He has a long history of violent temper outbursts, crude jokes and statements about others, and took millions of dollars in his early carreer from powerful special interests. He's a maverick only because no one in Washington will have him. He will implode before your eyes before fall.
Posted by: bruceb | February 21, 2008 3:10 PM | Report abuse
Anonymous quotes aside, can anyone seriously doubt that McCain slept with that lobbyist? They were appearing everywhere together for months-- as shown in the photos, which speak for themselves. What else could have been going on? And look at her... who wouldn't want to sleep with her? I'd let slip an earmark here and there too, for access to her pants...
Posted by: fairbalanced | February 21, 2008 2:56 PM | Report abuse
Did anyone notice that there were more reporters (4) and researchers (2) on the NY Times article than there were "anonymous sources" (2)?
Posted by: keithstyrcula | February 21, 2008 2:53 PM | Report abuse
Mr. McCain, 71, and the lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, 40, both say they never had a romantic relationship.
Hmmm..
Huckabee believes in a miracle..
Will the Republican party defend John McCain?
http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=1758
.
Posted by: jeffboste | February 21, 2008 2:42 PM | Report abuse
Investigative reporting can of course take time. However to release such a report without a smoking gun is the real problem- you know the old coffee stained dossier with pictures, a money-trail, hard proof.
McCain is not my man for president, yet he deserves a break here. Let's however ask him the hard questions about the economy, NAFTA, the weak USD- the wars. What are his plans?
It is almost like there is a smoke-screen being casted, by so much attention to this story.
Posted by: davidmwe | February 21, 2008 2:25 PM | Report abuse
According to the "pending article" by Gabriel Sherman, NY Times reporter Rutenberg began this investigation in November of LAST year.
Posted by: JakeD | February 21, 2008 1:58 PM | Report abuse
I agree that this is much more a story about journalism vs. editorials than it is about John McCain -- why did the NY Times "endorse" McCain -- is there anything else the NY Times knew about McCain prior to the endorsement but is sitting on?
Posted by: JakeD | February 21, 2008 1:54 PM | Report abuse
The comments to this entry are closed.
How could the NY Times allow the article to go to print? What proof do they have of a "romantic relationship?" None.
Now... a senator carrying water for a lobbyist who has clients who have issues that the senator happens to be the ranking committee member of his party on... that's a story.
But only if the NY Times has its people do the homework to write about any campaign contributions, bills, FCC matters, etc. that McCain weighed in on to help Iseman's clients.
Where's that detail in the article?
It's all just a shoddy piece of journalism, and it gives reporters a bad name, gives McCain a great way to rant about the so-called "liberal media bias," and it is a black eye for the "Grey Lady," the NY Times, which is supposed to be one of the "newspapers of record" (along with the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal).