More on McCain and the lobbyist he didn't shag
I'm shocked, shocked I say, to learn that John McCain seems to have fibbed a little bit about his dealings with Vicki Iseman, the lobbyist he allegedly didn't sleep with, and her client, Lowell Paxson. After the New York Times story appeared last week which outlined some shady dealings between McCain, Iseman, and Paxson's broadcast company, the McCain campaign adamantly denied that the senator ever met with Mr. Paxson or Ms. Iseman on the subject pending before McCain's committee.
It seems that Senator McCain's flat denial wasn't entirely accurate:
Broadcaster Lowell "Bud" Paxson yesterday contradicted statements from Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign that the senator did not meet with Paxson or his lobbyist before sending two controversial letters to the Federal Communications Commission on Paxson's behalf.
Paxson said he talked with McCain in his Washington office several weeks before the Arizona Republican wrote the letters in 1999 to the FCC urging a rapid decision on Paxson's quest to acquire a Pittsburgh television station.
Paxson also recalled that his lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, likely attended the meeting in McCain's office and that Iseman helped arrange the meeting. "Was Vicki there? Probably," Paxson said in an interview with The Washington Post yesterday. "The woman was a professional. She was good. She could get us meetings."
Oops.
McCain's criminal defense lawyer had this to say:
McCain attorney Robert S. Bennett played down the contradiction between the campaign's written answer and Paxson's recollection.
"We understood that he [McCain] did not speak directly with him [Paxson]. Now it appears he did speak to him. What is the difference?" Bennett said.
The difference, of course, is the distinction between "never" and "at least once." The difference is between lying (perhaps to hide the relationship McCain didn't have with Ms. Iseman) and telling the truth. Mr. Bennett represented Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal, so he should know by now that parsing the meaning of words such as "is" and "never" is a losing game.
Or, at least it's a losing game if your client is a Democrat. I wonder why the right wing aren't making a big deal over McCain's obvious lies? IOKIYAR, I guess.