More-on McCain

While many people see the current scandal and (supposed) conflict between Senator McCain and the New York Times as evidence that "The Press" has now turned on their former "darling" McCain, I suspect that the truth is much more sinister.

McCain sits on a committee that oversees the FCC and is in a position to put pressure on many newspapers, particularly those that are owned by media conglomerates. There may have been a "romantic" relationship between Senator McCain, 71, and the lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, 40; but it seems that this "revelation" by the NYT comes at the best possible time for McCain.

1. Better now than in October. The Democrats had to be aware that this scandal would benefit them in the November election. They had no reason to want it to come out now. However the timing couldn't be better for McCain--he now has eight months to fight any brushfires from this scandal.

2. It forces the Right-Wing talk radio bloviators, like Rush Limbaugh, to rush to McCain's defense -- against the "big, bad" New York Times. McCain needs them now, to push Huckabee out of the race.

3. The NYT can be guaranteed to do a half-assed job on this story, much like the job CBS did in attacking G.W. Bush for leaving the Texas National Guard. We know, from statements made by still-living witnesses, that George W. Bush was indeed MIA, but the CBS news organization did such a lousy job of investigation that Bush was effectively "inoculated" against the truth. It seems like much the same thing will happen now with McCain.