McCain is Attracting A Lot of Press Attention!
It seems like John McCain is attracting attention from the press. First there is the Iseman “affair” and now it appears that John fibbed about whether or not he held private meetings with her clients. And today we get treated to John’s ringing endorsement of his “good friend and valued advisor” Rick Renzi.
John McCain’s denials start to unravel in tale of the blonde lobbyist
The Republican saviour is looking rattled after claims of a sex for favours scandal
London Times Online, Sarah Baxter
If anything was going to derail John McCain’s White House bid, it was the fear that he was too old to be president, not the likelihood of being embroiled in a sex and favours scandal. But when the Arizona senator reached for the lawyer who steered Bill Clinton through his women troubles, it was a sign that he was seriously rattled.
At the moment that the race was shaping up to be an epic contest between Barack Obama and McCain – the future versus the past, as Obama would have it, or naivety versus experience, as McCain prefers to frame it – the scandal hit the newsstands. After an early, highly successful counterattack, McCain was accused this weekend of being economical with the truth as far as some aspects of the story were concerned.
The essence of the tale is fairly simple. Vicki Iseman, 40, a blonde telecommunications lobbyist, became friends with McCain, 71, eight years ago. Some advisers thought the relationship might be romantic. Click here to read more in the London Times.
Whiff of scandal envelops McCain’s campaign
The Republican frontrunner faces fresh allegations over lobbyist links
The Observer, Paul Harris in New York
The scandal over Republican frontrunner John McCain’s relationship with a female lobbyist took a new twist yesterday with revelations that he had met one of her clients.
McCain’s campaign had earlier strongly denied that he had a meeting with wealthy broadcaster Lowell Paxson - a client of Washington-based lobbyist Vicki Iseman - before he sent two controversial letters urging a federal body to make a quick decision on Paxson’s attempt to buy a television station.
The issue is important because McCain has made personal ethics a key plank of his so far successful bid to capture the Republican nomination. He frequently rails against the influence of lobbyists and the corrupting power of big business and money in politics. Click here to read more in The Observer, an on-line edition of the Manchester Guardian.
McCain In Oct. 2006: Renzi Has ‘ Tenacity, Honesty And Integrity Beyond Reproach’
John Bresnahan, CBS News, Feb 22, 2008
(The Politico) In late October 2006, after it was revealed that the FBI was looking into allegations that the now indicted Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) was under investigation for his involvement in a federal land transfer deal, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) came to Renzi’s rescue.
According to the blog “Deep Thought,” McCain said the following about Renzi, who was indicted today on 36 federal corruption charges, during a series of automated robocalls made to voters in Renzi’s district:
“This is Sen. John McCain. I’m calling to urge you to support my friend Rep. Rick Renzi for Congress. Rick has represented the first district of Arizona with tenacity, honesty and integrity beyond reproach. I work with Rick every day and can report to you his total dedication to the people of Arizona and the United States. Please join me in supporting rural Arizona’s workhorse congressman on Nov. 7. [Paid for and authorized by Rick Renzi for Congress].”
Renzi has also been one of the co-chairmen of McCain’s presidential campaign in Arizona. Click here to read more from CBS News.
Also our special thanks to Daily KOS, by Markos Moulitsas Zuniga.