Did The Bimbo, In Fact, Erupt?
Clearly, the discussion of the McCain Lobbyist-not-affair-but-maybe story is going to focus on all the internal machinations that went into publishing it rather than its inconclusive substance. For a little preview of what is likely to expounded upon soon, Jonathan Martin’s Politico story is a good place to start. The real important piece in the puzzle is going to be Gabe Sherman’s TNR piece detailing the supposed conflict in the Times newsroom; we don’t know what went into it, but apparently Sherman’s calling around is what forced the Times‘ hands.
But lets get back to the piece in question. The central revelation is that aides and advisors to McCain were concerned that there was a possible romantic relationship between him and telecom lobbyist Vicki Iseman sometime before his 2000 presidential run. They told Iseman to distance herself and cut off her access to McCain, fearing that the story could break. The rest of the story just details small, typical, slightly unethical but none to shocking slip ups and connections to lobbyists and moneyed interests that are really only noteworthy because it’s McCain, the self declared scourge of lobbyists engaging in them.
The other useful thing the story does is go over how McCain wasn’t always some paragon of ethics and anti-corruption. As the Times reminds us, McCain became prominent as a politician because of his connection to corrupt banker Charles Keating and his lobbying to loosen regulatory strictures because Keating was doing some fishy banking:
Mr. Keating had taken over the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association and used its federally insured deposits to gamble on risky real estate and other investments. He pressed Mr. McCain and other lawmakers to help hold back federal banking regulators.For years, Mr. McCain complied. At Mr. Keating’s request, he wrote several letters to regulators, introduced legislation and helped secure the nomination of a Keating associate to a banking regulatory board.By early 1987, though, the thrift was careering toward disaster. Mr. McCain agreed to join several senators, eventually known as the Keating Five, for two private meetings with regulators to urge them to ease up. “Why didn’t I fully grasp the unusual appearance of such a meeting?” Mr. McCain later lamented in his memoir.When Lincoln went bankrupt in 1989 — one of the biggest collapses of the savings and loan crisis, costing taxpayers $3.4 billion — the Keating Five became infamous. The scandal sent Mr. Keating to prison and ended the careers of three senators, who were censured in 1991 for intervening. Mr. McCain, who had been a less aggressive advocate for Mr. Keating than the others, was reprimanded for “poor judgment” but was re-elected the next year.
This certainly isn’t news, every profile or biography of McCain always addressed Keating. But it’s still very relevant and because of the media’s general reluctance to criticize McCain and to take him at as word as incorruptible, the full scope of McCain’s perfidy isn’t discussed enough, especially considering his mid-career conversion to the cause of ethics reform.
But let’s get back to what the Times really wanted to talk about – the bimbo erupting. The closest we get is in the final third, when McCain, according to annoymous sources, admitted that he behaved inappropriately:
In interviews, the two former associates said they joined in a series of confrontations with Mr. McCain, warning him that he was risking his campaign and career. Both said Mr. McCain acknowledged behaving inappropriately and pledged to keep his distance from Ms. Iseman. The two associates, who said they had become disillusioned with the senator, spoke independently of each other and provided details that were corroborated by others.
This is where things get weird. Clearly, “acknowledged behaving inappropriately” is redacted lawyer-speak that they had to put in after Robert Bennett McCain’s high profile attorney, got to the Times and probably washed the piece. When the Times started writing this story, they probably thought they had a sex story on their hands. And not just any sex story, America’s Hero, Mr. Ethics, John McCain in a sex scandal. Now, if there was someone out there who told the Times that McCain did indeed had an affair or someone in the Times who’s unhappy that they’re sitting on that detail, or at least being so opaque about it, how come Drudge or TMZ or Huff Post someone doesn’t know it. With so many blogs and what not, how can any prominent politician hope to keep an affair under wraps? As they always say, developing…
