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NYT Takes Flak over McCain Article
by
findingDulcinea Staff
The Times article has rallied support for McCain from previously wary conservatives and drawn him sympathy elsewhere. Did the Gray Lady slip up?
30-Second Summary
Readers have submitted over 2,000 comments to The New York Times Web site since the story first appeared two days ago.
While some commentators have been supportive, the Times reports that most have been critical. In response, the paper announced that all staff members involved in the production of the story would answer reader-submitted questions today.
Critiquing both the journalistic merits of the article and the paper’s possible motivation, columnists from the Colombia Journalism Review, Slate and even the Times itself have offered their perspectives on the piece and the three-month delay of its publication.
Some have defended the story, suggesting that much of the criticism is misguided because it focuses too much on the personal relationship between McCain and Iseman while glossing over the political influence she was reported to have over the senator.
Meanwhile, a number of conservative commentators have spoken out in defense of McCain, including those who in the past have criticized his now all-but-certain Republican nomination.
Rush Limbaugh said that the article was an attempt to smear McCain, and the Christian Broadcasting Network said an “attack” from The New York Times was a “conservative badge of honor.”
In addition to denying all of the allegations implied in the story at a press conference on Feb. 21, the McCain campaign has also responded by using the Times article to rally support from potential donors.
While some commentators have been supportive, the Times reports that most have been critical. In response, the paper announced that all staff members involved in the production of the story would answer reader-submitted questions today.
Critiquing both the journalistic merits of the article and the paper’s possible motivation, columnists from the Colombia Journalism Review, Slate and even the Times itself have offered their perspectives on the piece and the three-month delay of its publication.
Some have defended the story, suggesting that much of the criticism is misguided because it focuses too much on the personal relationship between McCain and Iseman while glossing over the political influence she was reported to have over the senator.
Meanwhile, a number of conservative commentators have spoken out in defense of McCain, including those who in the past have criticized his now all-but-certain Republican nomination.
Rush Limbaugh said that the article was an attempt to smear McCain, and the Christian Broadcasting Network said an “attack” from The New York Times was a “conservative badge of honor.”
In addition to denying all of the allegations implied in the story at a press conference on Feb. 21, the McCain campaign has also responded by using the Times article to rally support from potential donors.
Headline Link: The McCain article backlash
Tbe New York Times has received over 2,000 comments from readers since the John McCain article was first posted on Feb. 20. They note that many of the comments have been critical of both the article’s content and the paper’s handling of the story. In addition to posting all the comments they have received, the Times has announced that everyone involved in the publication of the story will answer reader-submitted questions on Feb. 22.
Source: The New York Times
Background: The piece’s long backstory
The original New York Times article, which was posted on the newspaper’s Web site on the evening of Feb. 20, suggested McCain had an inappropriate relationship with telecommunications lobbyist Vicki Iseman during his tenure as chair of the Senate Commerce Committee in the late 1990s. The article also suggests that their relationship resulted in McCain providing preferential treatment to Iseman’s clients.
Source: The New York Times
The New Republic offers a glimpse of the internal debate that has kept the Times story under wraps since December 2007. The publication began an investigation into the whereabouts of the story on Feb. 4 and received denials from both McCain’s campaign and Bill Keller, Executive Editor of the New York Times, until the story broke on the 20th.
Source: The New Republic
John McCain addressed reporters on Feb. 21, denying allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with Vicki Iseman and then acted on behalf of her clients. McCain said the article was “not true”.
Source: The Washington Post
Reactions: Scandal may work in McCain’s favor
Political news Web site Politico notes that a number of conservative commentators who have thus far not supported McCain’s nomination for president are now defending the Republican senator against the Times’ allegations.
Source: Politico
The New York Post offers a run-down of the McCain response to the article and the conservative commentators who have come to his defense, including Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh.
Source: The New York Post
Politico’s Jonathan Martin notes that the McCain campaign has made use of the article by including it in fundraising literature distributed to potential donors.
Source: Politico
John McCain’s daughter Meghan has not specifically addressed the article on her campaign blog, McCainBlogette.com, though she did post a short entry alluding to the pressures of politics.
Source: McCain Blogette
Analysis: Parsing the article
Washington Post Media Critic Howard Kurtz outlines the debate surrounding the New York Times article, detailing the perspectives of its supporters and detractors.
Source: The Washington Post
Slate media critic Jack Shafer sees a number of weaknesses in the New York Times story, but generally supports both its content and the paper’s decision to run it.
Source: Slate
The Colombia Journalism Review dissects the allegations included in the McCain lobbyist article, and suggests that although a number of points could be dismissed as coincidence, some of them deserve further investigation and discussion.
Source: The Colombia Journalism Review
Newsmax columnist Phil Brennen describes the Times article as an attempt to smear John McCain, saying the allegations of an inappropriate relationship with Iseman are unfounded.
Source: Newsmax
Politico’s Ben Smith notes that the criticism about the John McCain article is not only coming from Republicans, but Democrats as well.
Source: Politico
Related Topic: The Times’ possible source
New York Times columnist David Brooks explores the rift between current McCain campaign manager Rick Davis and former manager John Weaver, who has been cited as the possible source of the Times’ allegations. Brooks suggests that the strained relationship between the two may have had something to do with Weaver’s talking to The New York Times.
Source: The New York Times
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