The New York Times, McCain and Integrity

The recent scrutiny of the McCain – lobbyist connection is being decried as a “hit job” by the McCain camp, Fox News, and other outlets, including the Times Ombudsman – One can understand why McCain might want to cry foul, and Fox for that matter, but when all is said and done, the story was not an unusual piece for the Times - due to the fact that the paper has printed far more volatile stories citing anonymous sources. That said, the point of the story is not whether or not McCain was running around on the current Mrs. McCain, it was about how he was playing fast and loose with lobbyists - the lobbyists are tied to the telecoms, the telecoms are tied to legislation, the legislation is tied to work the telecoms do for the country (paid work) and that is tied to the current administration. This is just the tip of the iceberg as far as innuendo is concerned. It is simply the ideology of the left speaking to the hypocrisy of the 100 years in Iraq, Bush approved McCain. Timing is everything, although McCain is showing a short-term benefit due to alleged donations pouring into his campaign from irate anti-Times people, the stage is set for the systematic destruction of McCain during the general election. The fact that the RNC was in such a rush to push McCain as the front runner, with every legislator imaginable coming forward in his defense (support), allowing the media to focus on one party only, was a huge mistake. Additionally, people are paying attention to the fact that McCain hired a DNC insider to defend him against the Times story (a good three months in advance of its release) - Hired gun is saying now that the allegations are baseless because, as a Democrat, he fully investigated McCain, goes to partisanship either way. McCain cannot win in a general election. Conservatives are not concerned about the McCain alleged affair; they are concerned about the lobbyists. McCain should debate the other two candidates still in the race, although I am a Huckabee supporter, I think that the biggest mistake being made here is that the RNC has already gone into the shadows. This would generate a bit of buzz, at the very least, and allows conservative viewpoints to come to the forefront. Who cares about John McCain now? The spotlight is on the DNC candidates. Should there be more stories regarding lobbyists, coming from other papers, or news outlets, then the coffin is nailed shut, especially when and if McCain actually gets the 1,000 plus delegates he needs in order for him to legitimately call himself the nominee (although he's using that in fundraising letters now, it's not accurate -Goes to character.) Then there will be no holding back.