How Many Scandals Is McCain Involved In?

Well so far there are not one, but two. Unless you haven't seen just a smidge of political news in the last week or so, you know of some blonde that he might or might not have been ethical with. In regards to the blonde, it doesn't matter if he slept with her or not. The real issue is that he did favors for her as a lobbyist, that is, by Mr. Anti-Lobbyist. He's not really a 'maverick,' it is more like he is a real slick bastard who has gotten away with looking clean for far too long. Yet there is more than just lobbying going on in McCain's universe. The Iseman scandal just looks really bad, the other one is criminal.

From AmericaBlog:

When John McCain's campaign was strapped for cash John McCain opted into the campaign financing system by requesting certification that he was eligible to collect federal money. As the New Hampshire primary approached and John McCain was broke he took material advantage of the system by using the promise of matching funds to borrow money to keep his campaign afloat. And he took advantage of a rule that gives candidates who take public financing automatic ballot access on ballots in several states. (Governor Dean estimated that he spent 3 million dollars in 2004 getting on ballots in states because he had opted out of the public financing system. )

Once John McCain had taken advantage of the system by gaining ballot access and securing a campaign saving loan, he won the New Hampshire primary and became the apparent nominee of the Republican Party. He then sent a letter saying that he was opting out of the primary process and claiming that the FEC is now impotent to stop him.

If John McCain is forced to stay in the matching system he will only be allowed to spend $56 million dollars before the Republican convention in September. As of the end of January John McCain had already spent $49 million dollars meaning that today he's either close to the cap or over the amount of money he can spend during the primary.

What does it mean for John McCain? It's yet another issue where John McCain tries to legislate one way and do something completely different. In this case it has to do with campaign finance issues. As Brad Smith, the former Republican FEC commissioner noted, if McCain drops out of the system the FEC will subpoena McCain, and his staff during and their records to determine whether they violated the law. If they're found to be in violation of the law they can be fined up to $25,000 and they can be jailed for up to five years.

Hmm, McCain certainly does not want to spend another five years in jail, even if it would be an American jail. Well Howard Dean has taken the first step to figure out what is happening, by filing a complaint against the maverick with the Federal Elections Commission. McCain was trying to hedge his bets before his campaign reignited in New Hampshire. Unfortunately for him, hedging that bet is against the law.

So much for Mr. Campaign Finance.

Fool Me Once, Shame On You, Fooled By McCain Twice? Shame On Us

After the story broke about Vicki Iseman and her relationship with John McCain, the Senator from Arizona and his minions went into attack mode (and they're good at it too). That is, attack the messenger mode. All of them decried the New York Times and that John McCain is a maverick and man of integrity. Damn, even his "blogger" daughter turned out an 'aww, shucks' piece about dear old Dad. The man who is seen as a maverick by many however, has a past that shows he isn't immune from deviating from the character he pretends to be.

From The Albany Project:

It seems John McCain has had his own Rudy Giuliani moments in the past.

In 2000, Nicholas Kristof wrote a profile piece on McCain described how his marriage to present wife Cindy came to form:

It was 1979, and it was becoming clear that he would never make admiral like his father and grandfather. He had always dreamed of doing something great, of imprinting his name on the history books, but at age 42 he found himself with a stuttering military career and no base from which to go into politics.

On top of that, his personal life was a mess: Although he was still living with his wife, he was aggressively courting a 25-year-old woman who was as beautiful as she was rich.

And as this far-right website puts it:

While still married to Carol, McCain began an adulterous relationship with Cindy. He married Cindy in May 1980 -- just a month after dumping Carol and securing a divorce. The newlyweds honeymooned in Hawaii.

This is all true. John McCain divorced his first wife Carol in April 1980. Then, a month later in May 1980, he marries current wife Cindy.

Hmmm. Could a guilty man be capable of sinning again?

America, Meet Vicki

Forget American Idol, the newest star on the political stage is Vicki Iseman. Vicki is a telecom lobbyist that works for Alcalde and Fay (here's the link, but it has mysteriously been disabled) and has done so right out of college. For the last eighteen years or so, she has been making deals with politicians so that her clients get sweetheart treatment inside the hallowed walls of Congress.

Now we are beginning to learn that one of her contacts might literally be in bed with her. He happens to be the front runner for the Republican nomination and in a few contests, he will most likely have enough votes to make it official. What a time for her to make her infamous debut. McCain must be kicking himself for ever meeting her, taking her on trips, doing favors for her clients, etc etc.

Despite being seen as some toy of McCain's, she has been a hard worker at Alcalde and Fay. As Hillary Clinton said that lobbyists are people too, there are some very grateful men and women out there, with strange names like AstraZeneca, CACI International (you know that torturer?), Paxson Communications and PriceWaterhouseCooper.

Welcome to the public world Ms. Iseman, we are all very glad to meet you! Oh I forgot to mention, you look so similar to Mrs. McCain, isn't that odd?

Oh Man McCain!

Wow what a crazy night/morning it has been. McCain is under siege by the press, wondering what the hell McCain was up to with a lobbyist by the name of Vicki Iseman. Vicki was seen as a close 'buddy' by his advisers back in 2000 when he last ran for the Presidency. When they got scared of the implications that he might have been having an affair with a telecommunications lobbyist, they ran her off from their precious "Maverick." Oh this story is too bad for him, the press will be like rabid dogs, hunting for more and more of McCain's blood political future.

From The NY Times:

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.

It had been just a decade since an official favor for a friend with regulatory problems had nearly ended Mr. McCain’s political career by ensnaring him in the Keating Five scandal. In the years that followed, he reinvented himself as the scourge of special interests, a crusader for stricter ethics and campaign finance rules, a man of honor chastened by a brush with shame.

But the concerns about Mr. McCain’s relationship with Ms. Iseman underscored an enduring paradox of his post-Keating career. Even as he has vowed to hold himself to the highest ethical standards, his confidence in his own integrity has sometimes seemed to blind him to potentially embarrassing conflicts of interest.

Oooh. Thats gotta hurt. Well McCain came out swinging and is dismissing the article as hogwash (without being able to completely deny the evidence). He's going to have a press conference later to do, but won't take any questions (bad idea). We'll see him deny away, but that only gives the signal to the press to keep hunting.....and hunt they will. Watching this mess unfold should be interesting, with only bad news for the Maverick on the horizon.