Conservatives long dissatisfied with John McCain rallied around him Thursday as he challenged a New York Times article insinuating he had an affair with a female lobbyist.
“It is beyond appalling that The New York Times continues its steady slide into the journalistic toilet with such a spurious, and so patently politically motivated, hit job,” said Brent Bozell, president of the conservative Media Research Center. “A 10-year-old piece of gossip, with no evidence whatsoever — this is what qualifies for news at this disgrace of a newspaper.”
That was music to the ears of McCain’s advisers who appeared visibly relieved that most of the outrage sparked by the front-page article was directed at The Times, not McCain. Observers on both sides of the political aisle said The Times failed to back up its suggestion of a “romantic” link between McCain and the lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, or to detail any favors the lawmaker might have done for Iseman’s clients.
“The McCain campaign should be heaving a big sigh of relief — it’s a one-day story,” said conservative Bill Kristol, who writes a column for The Times. McCain’s adviser Charlie Black told The Examiner that the campaign hoped to “move beyond” the story by today after he and others spent Thursday pushing back against The Times, which many conservatives believe has a liberal bias.
At a news conference in Toledo, Ohio, McCain unequivocally denied the article’s allegations. “I’m very disappointed in The New York Times piece,” he said.
His wife, Cindy, added: “My children and I not only trust my husband, but know that he would never do anything to … disappoint the people of America.”
New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller said in a written statement that “no one has challenged what we actually reported.”
“The facts have been nailed down to our satisfaction, the subjects have all been given a full and fair chance to respond and the reporting has been written up with all the proper context and caveats,” he said.
