# NYT to air McCains affair with Lobbyist tomorrow. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 21, 2008, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513 "2008-02-21T04:24:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/41 "2008-02-21T15:28:24Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Not exactly a mixed metaphore, but what would you call that? 😉 [/QUOTE] A euphemism? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/42 "2008-02-21T15:35:49Z")
If you rejected politicians for womanizing ,your list of acceptable pols would be quite small. I do not know if its a fringe benefit or if politics draws in the conquering types, but it is very common in the arena. The Keating scandal is more revealing. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/43 "2008-02-21T15:57:40Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] A euphemism? [/QUOTE] A mixed euphemism? (Horn dog + Corn hole) Anyway, this story was on the front page of the SJ Mercury News today, although the alleged affair part was only a small fraction of the article-- the bulk of it was about being connected to a lobbyist while campaigning against lobbyists. I don’t see this getting much traction, especially at this point in the campaign. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/44 "2008-02-21T16:09:00Z")
The traction would be his activities in her behalf. He sent a letter to the FCC pushing a company she worked for.He has pushed her agenda several times. He claims to dislike the politician /lobbyist interaction. Hypocritical and worthy of traction. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/45 "2008-02-21T16:11:02Z")
A politician may have acted in a hypocritical manner (8 years ago)? Tell me it ain’t so!! ---
**Author:** ![Jonno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f19dbf/32.png) [@Jonno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonno)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/46 "2008-02-21T16:50:03Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed] How about if it was Donny Most? [/QUOTE] He prefers to be called Don. It’s just too bad this didn’t come out when Romney was still in the running. It’d be fun to watch Limbaugh dive on this story faster than he’d jump on a blank prescription pad. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/47 "2008-02-21T17:31:41Z")
Bay Buchanan wants to know why they did not release the story earlier when It would have helped Huckleberry win the nomination. They had it for 4 months and released it when another publication decided to run it. But the righties seem more pissed off about the timing than veracity. Maybe they knew. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/48 "2008-02-21T17:43:41Z")
[QUOTE=casieispretty] Oh, and why would you cheat on your wife with a woman that looks exactly like your wife? [/QUOTE] But thirteen years younger. Not the first time McCain would have traded in for a newer model. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/49 "2008-02-21T17:55:21Z")
[Separating the wheat (impropriety) from the chaff (the sex stuff)](http://www.samefacts.com/archives/john_mccain_/2008/02/the_iseman_cometh.php): > [@](#): > > Second update: Regardless of whom McCain was or was not shtupping, the AP’s version of the McCain/Iseman story has one allegation of a clear impropriety, in more detail than the Times version: > > > [@](#): > > > > In late 1999, McCain twice wrote letters to the Federal Communications Commission on behalf of Florida-based Paxson Communications — which had paid Iseman as its lobbyist — urging quick consideration of a proposal to buy a television station license in Pittsburgh. At the time, Paxson’s chief executive, Lowell W. “Bud” Paxson, also was a major contributor to McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign. > > McCain did not urge the FCC commissioners to approve the proposal, but he asked for speedy consideration of the deal, which was pending from two years earlier. In an unusual response, then-FCC Chairman William Kennard complained that McCain’s request “comes at a sensitive time in the deliberative process” and “could have procedural and substantive impacts on the commission’s deliberations and, thus, on the due process rights of the parties.” > > > > McCain wrote the letters after he received more than $20,000 in contributions from Paxson executives and lobbyists. Paxson also lent McCain his company’s jet at least four times during 1999 for campaign travel. > > “No favors for lobbyists or special interests”? Are you sure? Is it routine for a Senator from Arizona to pressure regulatory agencies on behalf of companies based in Florida? Let’s hear McCain’s campaign (headed by a lobbyist who is donating his time) deny this, or explain it. Not insignificant, I don’t think, but definitely buried amidst the more sensational (and dubious) elements of the story. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/50 "2008-02-21T18:12:33Z")
Looks like McCain’s little campaign financing problem is breaking into the news today too: [FEC chair says McCain can’t withdraw from public financing until loan questions resolved](http://www.startribune.com/nation/15837132.html) ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/51 "2008-02-21T18:59:06Z")
I’d like to welcome all the youngsters and newbies that Obama has brought into politics. As you can see, it is just like you learned in your civics classes. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/52 "2008-02-21T19:05:55Z")
Huh. So this is why he was pressing Obama about public funds? Lib, bubbe, this is exactly like the politics I learned in Civics class. “Ma, ma, where’s my pa?” ---
**Author:** ![El\_Gui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@El\_Gui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Gui)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/53 "2008-02-21T19:11:21Z")
[QUOTE=DSeid] Interestingly enough scanning the blogosphere I see few left leaning ones doing anything other than criticizing the NYT for going with it. It’ll be interesting to see how the Right handles this item. I’m guessing they’ll keep this alive more than the Left does. [/QUOTE] Very true. A couple of examples: [Here](http://matthewyglesias.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/02/a_real_story.php), [and here](http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/horsesmouth/2008/02/about_that_time.php) I have a feeling this will instead turn into a NYT bashing story rather than the more valid issue of the lobbyist influence on McCain. Reminds me of how the Dan Rather screw up with the faked documents pretty much halted any further examination into Bush’s National Guard service during Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/54 "2008-02-21T19:20:35Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Anyway, this story was on the front page of the SJ Mercury News today, although the alleged affair part was only a small fraction of the article-- the bulk of it was about being connected to a lobbyist while campaigning against lobbyists. I don’t see this getting much traction, especially at this point in the campaign. [/QUOTE] The Murky News ran the Washington Post story. It’s not on their web page, and the Post requires registration - though the headline is there. They mentioned the “affair” only in the context of the Times article. Far more interesting was that McCain’s aides told this lobbyist to back off. Will it be a big deal? Maybe not. But maybe it is a pre-emptive strike, and Republicans are in favor of those, yes? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/55 "2008-02-21T19:29:47Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed] How about if it was Donny Most? [/QUOTE] Apparently you don’t read the papers. Most said that he’ll never have another three-way with McCain because “After the first time or two his crying out ‘THE KID’S STILL GOT IT!’ gets old, and besides that’s my _@(_#$ing line!” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/56 "2008-02-21T20:04:37Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] The Murky News ran the Washington Post story. [/QUOTE] Good point, and I should’ve mentioned that because I did notice. Much of what they run is recycled NYT and WaPo stories. NPR interrupted their 11AM program to do a bit about this, so it’s getting plenty of airtime. Saw a piece about it on NBC Nightly News last night, too. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/57 "2008-02-21T20:07:18Z")
John will be cryin’ like a crocodile over this. If he had to sit up all night, he couldn’t think of a better thing to happen to his campaign. After learning that he will be unable to unify the GOP against Hillary, now he can unite it against the NYT. Conservatives may finally come around to him if only because they hate the NYT even more than they hate him. As scandals go, it seems like small potatoes. If that’s all they’ve got, McCain will take this free publicity any day of the week. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/58 "2008-02-21T20:10:47Z")
Not so sure. Lot of McCain’s political capital is built on his “straight shooter” image. This could hurt. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/59 "2008-02-21T20:18:53Z")
I think someone other than an anonymous source needs to step forward with testimony in order for this to get traction. Gotta put a human face on it for it to register with people. Besides, McCain isn’t running against anybody for quite some time to come. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513/60 "2008-02-21T21:46:05Z")
This scandal is reminding people of the Keating 5. It was back in the past but it is now being discussed again. That can not help him. He wrote 2 letters to the FCC trying to get his girlfriends company some fast tracking. This will come out. Soon McCain saying ,I did not have sex with that woman. The fun has only begun. If they had the nerve to print it ,it must have some substance. Even Drudge wrote about it several months ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-to-air-mccains-affair-with-lobbyist-tomorrow/438513.md?page=4)