John McCain - Taking "Beholden to lobbyists" to a whole new level
Thu Feb 21, 2008 at 08:01:01 AM PDT
There is a story here in the NYT Article: For McCain, Self-Confidence on Ethics Poses Its Own Risk
Not that he cheated, or did, or almost did.
That shouldn't be the story.
We shouldn't let the media take the REAL story here and drag it through the mud until it becomes tabloid city.
There is a bigger issue at state the the NYT really harped on more than adultery .... ethics.
Follow me below.
The fact the the NYT printed this story about a potential Romantic Relationship with a woman, without any proof, they were, in fact, detracting from the real issue at hand: John McCain's persona of a Maverick, Ethical, Reformer, is about as real as a his face appearing on a Three Dollar bill.
The Times does a great job of laying out their case.
It had been just a decade since an official favor for a friend with regulatory problems had nearly ended Mr. McCain’s political career by ensnaring him in the Keating Five scandal. In the years that followed, he reinvented himself as the scourge of special interests, a crusader for stricter ethics and campaign finance rules, a man of honor chastened by a brush with shame.
But the concerns about Mr. McCain’s relationship with Ms. Iseman underscored an enduring paradox of his post-Keating career. Even as he has vowed to hold himself to the highest ethical standards, his confidence in his own integrity has sometimes seemed to blind him to potentially embarrassing conflicts of interest.
... But like other lawmakers, he often flew on the corporate jets of business executives seeking his support, including the media moguls Rupert Murdoch, Michael R. Bloomberg and Lowell W. Paxson, Ms. Iseman’s client. (Last year he voted to end the practice.)
The real story here is his very unethical relationship with Keating. The very thing that nearly ended his career years ago.
During Mr. McCain’s four years in the House, Mr. Keating, his family and his business associates contributed heavily to his political campaigns. The banker gave Mr. McCain free rides on his private jet, a violation of Congressional ethics rules (he later said it was an oversight and paid for the trips). They vacationed together in the Bahamas. And in 1986, the year Mr. McCain was elected to the Senate, his wife joined Mr. Keating in investing in an Arizona shopping mall.
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.
To those of us new the the scandal, or those who have forgotten it's importance, it seems to me the Jack Abramoff of the early 1990s:
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 only for "poor judgment" and was re-elected the next year.
Some people involved think Mr. McCain got off too lightly. William Black, one of the banking regulators the senator met with, argued that Mrs. McCain’s investment with Mr. Keating created an obvious conflict of interest for her husband. (Mr. McCain had said a prenuptial agreement divided the couple’s assets.) He should not be able to "put this behind him," Mr. Black said. "It sullied his integrity."
But, instead of this being a serious reminder to the American people, this story will be once again lost due to the charges of a Romantic Relationship that the campaign can easily work to dismiss.
Don't believe me?
Look at how they are responding to the story .... like its only about sex, and nothing to do with his serious lack of judgment throughout his career:
"It is a shame that The New York Times has lowered its standards to engage in a hit-and-run smear campaign. John McCain has a 24-year record of serving our country with honor and integrity. He has never violated the public trust, never done favors for special interests or lobbyists, and he will not allow a smear campaign to distract from the issues at stake in this election.
"Americans are sick and tired of this kind of gutter politics, and there is nothing in this story to suggest that John McCain has ever violated the principles that have guided his career."
So instead of the media discussing this:
He should not be able to "put this behind him," Mr. Black said. "It sullied his integrity."
with in a few days or a week, the whole story will be discredited due to making the issue about sex. And the real story, the one about his unethical history, will be lost.
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