IS JOHN MCCAIN IN THE MIDST OF A SEX
SCANDAL OR A CORRUPTION SCANDAL?

You Decide.

From Thursday's New York Times:

For McCain, Self-Confidence on Ethics Poses Its Own Risk

Early in Senator John McCain’s first run for the White House eight years ago, waves of anxiety swept through his small circle of advisers.

A female lobbyist had been turning up with him at fund-raisers, visiting his offices and accompanying him on a client’s corporate jet. Convinced the relationship had become romantic, some of his top advisers intervened to protect the candidate from himself — instructing staff members to block the woman’s access, privately warning her away and repeatedly confronting him, several people involved in the campaign said on the condition of anonymity.

When news organizations reported that Mr. McCain had written letters to government regulators on behalf of the lobbyist’s client, the former campaign associates said, some aides feared for a time that attention would fall on her involvement.

Mr. McCain, 71, and the lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, 40, both say they never had a romantic relationship. But to his advisers, even the appearance of a close bond with a lobbyist whose clients often had business before the Senate committee Mr. McCain led threatened the story of redemption and rectitude that defined his political identity.

Click here for all the rest.

Here's my answer. It's a corruption scandal. But I'd bet you credits to navy beans that what's going to get the most traction in the 24/7 cable news cycle is the sex. Sex, sex, sex. And because CNBCCNNFOXMSNBCABCCBSNBCHNN is going to be blaring "sex, sex, sex" repeatedly for days on end, the more legitimate news outlets, such as mainstream papers, PBS, and NPR, are going to follow suit, even if it's the old "reporting on the story" ruse.

And, of course, the right-wing radio idiots who hate McCain's supposed "liberalism" are going to nail the fuck out of him on adultery, just as they did with that other "liberal," President Clinton. I also fully expect Huckabee to capitalize, too. And let's not forget the sanctimonious Democrats who don't give a fuck that the right fucking impeached their boy on exactly the same issue: they smell blood; principles be damned.

This is all infuriating.

Look, the corruption charges are very serious, and are certainly fair game for both reporters and politicians, especially because of McCain's past problems in this area, and his redemptive efforts as a campaign finance reformer in more recent years. But whether or not he had an affair, well, that's nobody's goddamned business but his own and his wife's. Period. Unfortunately, the news media are advertising driven, and sex sells consumer products much better than boring old ethics issues. Sex is also apparently the only thing short of an indictment that can actually bring down a politician these days, and humiliating downfall makes for very entertaining television.

I really, really, really want to be wrong about this. I'd be quite happy and very pleasantly surprised if the news media narrative on this emphasized the ethics issues over the alleged adultery. But I'm sure I'm right.

God damn it. I don't even like McCain.

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