New York Times Smears John McCain

No proof. No evidence. No witnesses. No admission from either of the two principals, just complete and utter hearsay by "anonymous sources" in a desperate bid to substantiate a rumor that's now 8 years old. But what else should one expect from a leftist rag that's losing business while it continues to pose as a fair and balanced newspaper:

John McCain’s campaign lashed out Wednesday at a new report in The New York Times alluding to the Republican presidential candidate’s relationship with a female lobbyist.

The article, to be published in Thursday’s edition of the Times but released the day before on its Web site, revisits rumors spread during McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign and tries to wipe the sheen off the Arizona senator’s record as an anti-special interest crusader, McCain campaign communications director Jill Hazelbaker said

“It is a shame that the New York Times has lowered its standards to engage in a hit and run smear campaign,” said Jill Hazelbaker, the McCain campaign’s communications director. “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.”

The Times article notes that McCain wrote to government regulators on behalf of a client of the lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, while he was chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. It also discusses how campaign aides kept the two apart during the 2000 election for fear they were giving the impression they were having an affair.

McCain, 71, and Iseman, 40, long ago denied ever having a romantic relationship, but the story argues that “his confidence in his own integrity has sometimes seemed to blind him to potentially embarrassing conflicts of interests.