Posted on 02/21/2008 4:54:14 AM PST by DBCJR
John McCain’s campaign promised to “go to war” against the New York Times Wednesday night after the newspaper posted its long-awaited story on McCain's alleged relationship with a telecom lobbyist. Both McCain and the woman in question denied having a romantic relationship.
The story, word of which first leaked to the Drudge Report in December, relies on anonymous sources tied to McCain who said the lobbyist was warned to keep her distance to the senator in the run-up to his first presidential bid.
In the piece, McCain is quoted as telling Times Editor Bill Keller that he never did anything unethical. Top McCain advisers, including his former Senate chief of staff Mark Salter, also say on the record that there was nothing inappropriate done legislatively.
McCain told reporters Wednesday night when asked about the story: "I haven't seen it yet, so I can't comment."
But campaign aides had read it and spared no time in blasting the newspaper.
"It is a shame that the New York Times has lowered its standards to engage in a hit and run smear campaign," said communications director Jill Hazelbaker, in a prepared statement sent about an hour after the Times posted their story online. "John McCain has a 24-year record of serving our country with honor and integrity. He has never violated the public trust, never done favors for special interests or lobbyists, and he will not allow a smear campaign to distract from the issues at stake in this election. See Also
* January yields debt for HRC, cash for Obama * McCain hopes for money surge * Obama dangerously slow on counterattacks
"Americans are sick and tired of this kind of gutter politics, and there is nothing in this story to suggest that John McCain has ever violated the principles that have guided his career."
The McCain campaign is using a two-pronged attack to push back against the story. First, they’ll argue it was a thinly sourced piece of innuendo journalism. But McCain aides will also strike at the source, using the Times’ liberal reputation as a means of self-defense to draw sympathy from the GOP’s conservative base.
To this end, a top McCain adviser accused the paper of practicing tabloid journalism.
“It’s not every night I stay up to read the National Enquirer,” said Charlie Black, who was with other top McCain aides at the senator’s Arlington, Va., headquarters to mount the counterattack.
Black noted he had taken heat from some of his “conservative friends’ after McCain won the paper’s endorsement in January. “We’re going to go to war with them now,” Black said. “We’ll see if that hurts or helps.”
As part of their pushback, McCain’s campaign issued the detailed response they sent to the paper in December when the story was being prepared. McCain campaign officials said the paper did not sufficiently include these explanations in their story.
According to Black, the Times only went with the story now because The New Republic was set to run a piece next Monday about internal dissensions at the paper over whether to run the long-held article.
After the TNR reporter, Gabriel Sherman, began making phone calls to the Times and others outside the paper, they decided to publish, Black alleged.
The Times called the McCain campaign this afternoon to give them notice that they were going with the story and asked campaign officials if they wanted to say anything more.
“We said we have nothing else to say unless you’ve got new questions. And they didn’t,” Black said.
In a blog posting late Wednesday, TNR senior editor Noam Scheiber wrote: “The McCain campaign is apparently blaming TNR for forcing the Times' hand on this story. We can't yet confirm that. But we can say this: TNR correspondent Gabe Sherman is working on a piece about the Times' foot-dragging on the McCain story, and the back-and-forth within the paper about whether to publish it. Gabe's story will be online tomorrow.”
Black, who has been closely involved in talks with the paper, acknowledged that there would be initial damage from the story, but predicted little long-term impact.
“I think we’re going to have a feeding frenzy for a day, maybe a day and a half then it will go away because it’s a nothing story.”
You don't need to see a newspaper to know whether or not you committed adultery, Johnny....
Red on red... break out the popcorn!
What standards? There's a reason they're called the NY Slimes.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Killem all, John.
How you goin' to do that?
Oh please.
Blue on blue is tragedy. Red on red is comedy.
ML/NJ
This conservative isn’t getting riled up to defend McCain, just sitting back and watching the crossfire.
But is this a trick to instigate conservative support for McCain against the mainstream media?
Is it the Dems going after McCain?
What do you expect when you run for president?
A bend over and grab the ankles anal exam.
I'll believe that when I see the NYT made to pay the price for publishing national security secrets.
The question to the NYT is, “So how long have you been setting on this story? And why did you choose to wait until he was the defacto nominee to release it?”
Yea, we all know the answer don’t we.
It might work
“But is this a trick to instigate conservative support for McCain against the mainstream media?”
No the Slimes and other drive by’s understand that American Idol started so even though there is no evidence, the innuendo is damaging.
BTW, this conservative will not support McCain with a vote and with some money - this claifies who the true power mongering enemy is.
I want to hear McCain start referring to the NYT as “The Grey Crack Whore.”
In a limo to boot.
Endorse him, then release the story? Hmm...
Why wasn’t this done before Florida? McLame would be an afterthought now.
John McLame wakes up to find that the MSM is not REALLY his friend.
Kind of satisfying in a way, but not a pretty picture.
The left-wing media touts and tries it's best to virtually PUSH one of the most liberal "republican" candidates (an erratic, disloyal, nutcase, at that) upon us, and then, as soon as it looks like he's the nominee...
here comes the bevy of negative stories, strategically held in reserve... until NOW.
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