New York Times Prints Attack On McCain; 'Journalistic Standards Of A Third-rate Tabloid'
Joined by wife Cindy, John McCain lashed out Thursday at a new report in The New York Times that revisits the Republican presidential candidate’s relationship with a female lobbyist, and rebuked the paper for spreading false rumors.
The Times article described how campaign aides kept him and lobbyist Vicki Iseman apart during the 2000 election for fear they were giving the impression they were having an affair. It noted how McCain wrote to government regulators on behalf of a client of the lobbyist while he was chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.
McCain called a press conference in Toledo, Ohio, to slam the paper for embellishing his committee activities on Iseman’s behalf.
“I’m very disappointed in The New York Times piece. It’s not true,” he said.
Asked about his relationship with the lobbyist, he said, “I have many friends in Washington who represent various interests and … I consider her a friend.” McCain surrogates who rushed to address the issue were more outspoken in their criticism of the story.
Attorney Robert Bennett called the piece “a hatchet job” and campaign adviser Charles Black was even more vocal.
“Unfortunately, The New York Times, the largest liberal newspaper in America, is running a false smear campaign against the integrity of the new conservative Republican nominee for president, John McCain, printing false rumors and gossip with no sources,” Black said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “This doesn’t meet the journalistic standards of a third-rate tabloid and it’s a shame that they have stooped to that.”
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), who is still in the running for the GOP nomination, said he would not react to the story beyond saying that he believes McCain is an honorable man.
Democrat Lanny Davis, who served as special counsel to President Clinton and is an ardent backer of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) for president, is defending McCain. Davis, a contributor to The Hill’s Pundits Blog, wrote that The New York Times failed to mention that the FCC investigated the matter referenced in its article and “found no violation by Sen. McCain.”
The Times article described how campaign aides kept him and lobbyist Vicki Iseman apart during the 2000 election for fear they were giving the impression they were having an affair. It noted how McCain wrote to government regulators on behalf of a client of the lobbyist while he was chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.
McCain called a press conference in Toledo, Ohio, to slam the paper for embellishing his committee activities on Iseman’s behalf.
“I’m very disappointed in The New York Times piece. It’s not true,” he said.
Asked about his relationship with the lobbyist, he said, “I have many friends in Washington who represent various interests and … I consider her a friend.” McCain surrogates who rushed to address the issue were more outspoken in their criticism of the story.
Attorney Robert Bennett called the piece “a hatchet job” and campaign adviser Charles Black was even more vocal.
“Unfortunately, The New York Times, the largest liberal newspaper in America, is running a false smear campaign against the integrity of the new conservative Republican nominee for president, John McCain, printing false rumors and gossip with no sources,” Black said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “This doesn’t meet the journalistic standards of a third-rate tabloid and it’s a shame that they have stooped to that.”
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), who is still in the running for the GOP nomination, said he would not react to the story beyond saying that he believes McCain is an honorable man.
Democrat Lanny Davis, who served as special counsel to President Clinton and is an ardent backer of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) for president, is defending McCain. Davis, a contributor to The Hill’s Pundits Blog, wrote that The New York Times failed to mention that the FCC investigated the matter referenced in its article and “found no violation by Sen. McCain.”
Labels: 2008 Presidential Race, New York Times
posted by Mike McCarville @ 10:27 AM
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