McCain: Affairs, Lobbyists, Oh My

Sen. John McCain is just about to become the Republican nominee for President. Today, the New York Times dropped a bombshell akin to Matt Drudge’s reporting on Bill Clinton’s Monica Lewinsky affair. The first allegation claims McCain had an affair with a lobbyist named Vicki Iseman. As the Washington Monthly pointed out in 2006,

McCain was still married and living with his wife in 1979 while, according to The New York Times‘ Nicholas Kristof, “aggressively courting a 25-year-old woman who was as beautiful as she was rich.” McCain divorced his wife, who had raised their three children while he was imprisoned in Vietnam, then launched his political career with his new wife’s family money. In 2000, McCain managed to deflect media questioning about his first marriage with a deft admission of responsibility for its failure. It’s possible that the age of the offense and McCain’s charmed relationship with the press will pull him through again, but Giuliani and Gingrich may face a more difficult challenge. Both conducted well-documented affairs in the last decade–while still in public office.

The US Veteran’s Dispatch details McCain’s divorce.

McCain denies the allegation in the Times.  But, the other disturbing piece of this story is his relationship with lobbyist. If we believe McCain that he and Iseman didn’t have an affair, at the very least, they had a close personal friendship. The New York Times writes, “A female lobbyist has been turning up with (McCain) at fund-raisers, visiting his offices and accompanying him on a client’s corporate jet.” All of this was legal as McCain pointed out today in his press conference. But, isn’t this the same guy that has been fighting against lobbyists influence on politicians? Late last year, in a story in the Washington Post, McCain said, he has “never done any favors for anybody — lobbyist or special interest group.” McCain took in over $400,000 from lobbyists in 2007 and he has 26 lobbyists on his staff.