Wednesday, February 20, 2008

First-Blush Reaction   [Rich Lowry]

The Times doesn't have the goods—at least from what's in the story—and shouldn't have run it. Let's be honest: this story is all about the alleged affair, and all the Keating Five and campaign finance reform re-hash is window dressing. A key passage:

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.

What does "behaving inappropriately" mean? And what were the details? A lot hangs on this passage and it's extremely vaporous. Then, there's the question of timing. The Times appears to have done what any conservative media critic would have predicted—sat on the story until the day after John McCain declares himself the nominee. It's hard to imagine the Times advanced the story much since December. If it did, just how weak was it back then?

02/20 10:38 PMShare