The McCain Bubble

It appears that John McCain is a liar:

Just hours after the Times' story was posted, the McCain campaign issued a point-by-point response that depicted the letters as routine correspondence handled by his staff--and insisted that McCain had never even spoken with anybody from Paxson or Alcalde & Fay about the matter. "No representative of Paxson or Alcalde & Fay personally asked Senator McCain to send a letter to the FCC," the campaign said in a statement emailed to reporters.

But that flat claim seems to be contradicted by an impeccable source: McCain himself. "I was contacted by Mr. Paxson on this issue," McCain said in the September 25, 2002 deposition obtained by Newsweek. "He wanted their approval very bad for purposes of his business. I believe that Mr. Paxson had a legitimate complaint."

At this point, it's worth observing something about the general McCain-press dynamic. One thing reporters like about McCain is that he offers shoot-from-the-hip statements on topics that come up in discussions. Reporters like this for good reason -- the carefully worded, artfully hedged statements in which the vast majority of politicians speak nowadays is really annoying. That said, politicians don't talk like that because they're all douchebags, they talk like that because that's how you have to talk. If you make the slightest slip-up or misstatement, the press will pounce all over you.

Unless, that is, you're John McCain. If you're John McCain you can make an obviously false statement like claiming you've "never done favors for special interests or lobbyists" or saying that "no representative of Paxson or Alcalde & Fay personally asked Senator McCain to send a letter to the FCC" when you yourself said in the past that you'd been contacted by Paxson and the press just lets it slide. Why? Because they like him. But they like him because he's spontaneous. But he's spontaneous because they let him get away with this stuff. And they let him get away with it because they like him. It's what makes him such a formidable political figure -- he can run around doing things no other politicians could get away with and actually attract praise for it.

Unless, of course, it all comes crashing down. If reporters start judging McCain by their usual rules, then he'll have to turn himself into just another carefully-hedging pol. But one who's a million years old, one who thinks the problem with the Bush foreign policy is that we haven't started enough wars, and one who doesn't even care about the economic challenges facing the country.

Comments

Matthew, just tell how you really think about John McCain... Don't hold back.

Posted by Nobody Important | February 22, 2008 1:09 PM

Even better than that: I wonder how many days it is until McCain starts cursing journalists like he has his colleagues--not in fun but in arrogant self-righteousness. That'll go over great--and when the honemoon's over, the mud-wrestling will begin. I just hope that he has truly sewn up the nmination before his Mr. Hyde shows up....

Posted by elle loco | February 22, 2008 1:10 PM

Matt's "McCain is ancient" shtick is getting as tiresome as Sullivan's "Billary, spawn of Satan."

Posted by allbetsareoff | February 22, 2008 1:13 PM

Not defending McCain, but there is not a literal contradiction here. In 2002 McCain states he was contacted by Paxson who wanted the approval and that he felt the complaint was legitimate.

The statement by his staff states that no one asked him to write the letter.

Both could be accurate. Now if the staff had said no one spoke with McCain about the issue, then we can say there is a lie.

Posted by John | February 22, 2008 1:16 PM

Well, McCain actually IS ancient...

Posted by Dave L | February 22, 2008 1:16 PM

Yglesias -

Get off the lawn!

Posted by John McCain | February 22, 2008 1:18 PM

I think McCain's statement hinges on a (Bill) Clintonesque parsing of "personally": that is, Paxson himself may have called McCain (and Iseman could have made a request in the midst of pillow talk), but the request was made "professionallY" -- that is, not asked of McCain as a personal favor from one pal to another, but as a professional (i.e., transactional) favor from a politician to a contributor.

Which, of course, would make McCain's troubles even worse.

Posted by The Confidence Man | February 22, 2008 1:20 PM

Matt's "McCain is ancient" shtick is getting as tiresome as Sullivan's "Billary, spawn of Satan."

A better complaint would have been to say something like "Matt's 'McCain is ancient' shitck is getting OLD.".

Then, it looks like you're not a whiner. You'd be playing rather than grumbling like a geyser.

Since McCain is, in fact, old as dirt, a little wit might help defuse it.

Posted by Jeffrey Davis | February 22, 2008 1:22 PM

The fact that McCain is old is a real electoral liability, and if you're going to talk about McCain's electoral chances, it is relevant.

Heck, even my Mother is nervous about a McCain presidency, because the dude might fall over dead at any time. She won't consider supporting him until she knows he has a really trustworthy VP.

Posted by Patrick | February 22, 2008 1:25 PM

Dudes, there's another wriggle available.

No representative of Paxson or Alcalde & Fay personally asked Senator McCain to send a letter to the FCC.

The Newsweek story stresses that Paxson himself spoke to McCain. But arguably, Paxson himself is not a "representative of Paxson."

Admittedly, like all the other wriggles listed above, this is the kind of Clintonian parsing that doesn't wash with voters if they're paying attention.

Posted by Ted | February 22, 2008 1:25 PM

I wonder how many micro-strokes McCain has already had? Anybody know the statistics on that?

Posted by blah | February 22, 2008 1:28 PM

If "John McCain is a liar", we may be getting closer to "He will do anything to get elected".

Posted by Where's Sally? | February 22, 2008 1:29 PM

In re: John at 1:16 p.m: The "he didn't ask me to write a letter" thing isn't quite going to wash either. Click on the second page of Isikoff's story.

Abrams then asked McCain: "Can you tell us what you said and what he said about it?"

McCain: "That he had applied to purchase this station and that he wanted to purchase it. And that there had been a numerous year delay with the FCC reaching a decision. And he wanted their approval very bad for purposes of his business. I said, 'I would be glad to write a letter asking them to act, but I will not write a letter, I cannot write a letter asking them to approve or deny, because then that would be an interference in their activities. I think everybody is entitled to a decision. But I can't ask for a favorable disposition for you'."

I think that makes pretty clear that Paxson asked for a letter -- or close enough that no one without a microscope will see the difference.

Posted by Ted | February 22, 2008 1:33 PM

One hopeful sign is that Letterman has been ridiculing McCain nightly. At some point he soured on the War and all the fatuous pseudo-patriots that cheered it on. All the jokes center on McCain being some kind of cranky, senile old codger with his pants hiked up high and mush for brains. There are no Obama (or Hillary) jokes.

Posted by Trevor | February 22, 2008 1:34 PM

"then he'll have to turn himself into just another carefully-hedging pol"

I don't think he can do that.

First off, the letter-writing that irritated the FCC back in 1998 was not too dissimilar from what he'd done in the Keating scandal.

Then the denials yesterday were over the top and transparently false. "I've never helped a lobbyist in any way ever, nor have I ever spoken to one," or whatever it was, wasn't hard to contradict.

It's like when he yelled at Romney "not 'apparently'! Of course the surge is working!" It really seems like when something is on his mind, it's the most important thing in the world, countervailing factors and facts be damned.

The Times story was stupid, for playing up his relationship with Iseman without delivering the goods, but there was a story buried in there.

Posted by Elvis Elvisberg | February 22, 2008 1:34 PM

If the Straight Talk Express starts laying up to blow the clinkers out its boilers, you might as well just take the local.

Posted by Jeffrey Davis | February 22, 2008 1:39 PM

"That said, politicians don't talk like that because they're all douchebags, they talk like that because that's how you have to talk."

although they might all be douchebags as well.

Posted by della Rovere | February 22, 2008 1:40 PM

My favorite comments about McCain come from Joe Klein - who somehow seems able to channel the conventional wisdom of the press corps - the smugness, the laziness, the clinging to absurd narratives, the defense of their own entrenched privilege - like nobody else.

He wrote:

"McCain's Character. This is the only candidate for President of the United States ever to admit that he attempted suicide--as a matter of honor, after the North Vietnamese tortured a confession out of him. In 2000, he told me, and I reported in the New Yorker, that people wouldn't think as highly of him if they knew the details of the breakup of his first marriage. In 2004, he told me that his involvement in the Keating Five scandal was more difficult than his imprisonment in Vietnam: "My honor was being questioned," he said. "There were days I couldn't get out of bed."

Clearly, this is a man obsessed with his flaws. In his Wisconsin victory speech Tuesday night, he spoke of himself as a "flawed servant" of his country. I believe the humility and self-flagellation is real, but also a very effective political tactic: a pre-emptive confession that defuses any accusations."

As you can see, the flaws are actually Christ-like acts of self-abasement. McCain, a hero greater than any hero who has ever walked the earth, will dick over his wife, accept money and favors from corrupt corporate types, etc. - only because he desperately wants to be more human, like us! Cursed with supermagnificent virtues far beyond those given to moral man, he is, naturally, lonely - and thuse, we should love him all the more when he makes some quid pro quo deal with a lobbyist, because he is simply reaching out to the hoi polloi. Perhaps we could cheer him up by elevating him to a position above the presidency. Maybe he could become America's superhero mascot or something.

Posted by ROGER | February 22, 2008 1:48 PM

I do favor Obama though now - but I fear I'm picking a loser. Too inexperienced, too naive, too ponderous. He's a leader, not a chief executive or manager. I predict a JFK like presidency, lots of wasted promise and another young generation further disenfranchised from politics as a result.

Posted by burning flock | February 22, 2008 1:49 PM

Mitt Romney, you may in fact be on deck!

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see how the media treats this story. As we all know (and has been scientifically proven), the media hate McCain and are looking for every oppotunity to smear McCain - witness the NY Times smear story in the first place.

OTOH, the press love - L.O.V.E. - Obama and have been cheerleading his campaign to no end. So will the media pick up on the story regarding Obama's debate answer last night about the media that Obama's either lying or knows absolutely nothing about the military.

Prediction is that the media make a big deal about the McCain thing and continue to dig ever deeper, and that the media completely ignore the Obama story.

Posted by Al | February 22, 2008 1:50 PM

allbetsareoff,
I would agree with you completely about this
"Matt's "McCain is ancient" shtick is getting as tiresome as Sullivan's "Billary, spawn of Satan." "
......if
It wasn't true that John McCain will be 72 before the elections in November (what is the average life expectency ...75?... just sayin)
-or-
If Hillary and Bill Clinton had not (starting in December) made an explicit pact with the devil to secure power. Whether you want to argue that "Billary" is the resulting spawn of that pact or not is just parsing meanings.

Posted by KevinQ | February 22, 2008 1:53 PM

As we all know (and has been scientifically proven), the media hate McCain

Nah dude. They love him. That's how you can tell he's not a real conservative. Duh. Catch up on your Limbaugh listening.

Posted by Elvis Elvisberg | February 22, 2008 1:57 PM

So -- at last McCain's foreign policy guru is going to start focusing. TGIF Countdown: Fortunately, in 333 days George Bush will no longer "focus on foreign policy," which is what the headline in yesterday's Washington Post said he would do in his final year. What a frightening thought. Think of all the damage he has done abroad for more than seven years without even focusing. Think what he can accomplish once he starts to focus . . .

Posted by Madison Guy | February 22, 2008 2:01 PM

The life expectancy of a 70 year old white male in 2004 was 13.7 years.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005140.html

I too don't understand the "million years old" -- it betrays a certain lack of perspective. There are many men who are vigorous and alert well into their 80s, and others who just fall apart. It's dumb to generalize.

Posted by gordonminor | February 22, 2008 2:04 PM

Elvis: Limbaugh rushed to McCain's defense yesterday. So now apparently the official line is that the liberal media hate McCain and always have because he's a good conservative, and that that has always been Limbaugh's position and the position of everyone in the conservative vanguard. Just try and prove it isn't.

Posted by Brian | February 22, 2008 2:06 PM

At a certain point, you'd think the press would become embarrassed they let him get away with this.

I mean, isn't it a little insulting that McCain thinks he can get away with saying flat "no, I never did that" to the press, when we've literally got him under oath saying "yep, I did that."

Oh, I know he's witty and charming and really really COOL.

And I get that some of the shallower among them might not have learned the lesson of Iraq & the Bush Presidency--namely, that when they fail to do their job and hold our leaders accountable to actual facts, that charming liars can lead our nation off a damn cliff.

But, gosh, you'd think even the shallow ones would get a little embarrassed that McCain totally has their number. He doesn't have to answer to them at all, and when he deigns to, he just totally wings it and makes up his answers. He treats them with all the respect that high school kids show the teacher who announces on the first day that everyone will get an automatic "A's" for the year. They're a bunch of freaking doormats. It's totally pathetic.

Posted by anonymous | February 22, 2008 2:18 PM

I too don't understand the "million years old" -- it betrays a certain lack of perspective. There are many men who are vigorous and alert well into their 80s, and others who just fall apart. It's dumb to generalize.

However, I doubt in those years in Hanoi he was getting optimal nutrition and health care. I dislike McCain and don't want him to be President for a wide variety of reasons, and I agree that generalization is a bad thing, but if I were a Republican I would consider his age a significant concern.

Posted by Persia | February 22, 2008 2:25 PM

Folks, McCain's gonna win. Remember when Gore and Kerry fucking destroyed Bush in the debates? Well, Obama (or Hillary) will do the same. But guess who's gonna be declared the winner? Sorry.

Posted by ed | February 22, 2008 2:30 PM

Ed,

I just love how you make these predictions of this guy wiinning the general without even bother to substantiate your assertions.

I say wait and see.

Posted by micheline | February 22, 2008 2:39 PM

All elections are just like the last one.

Posted by John | February 22, 2008 3:12 PM

This story and its fallout is going to be a great test case for the lefty bolgs, more specifically those who aspire to big careers in the MSM (i.e., not Atrios); if (ha, I mean when) the MSM continues to repeatedly makes excuses for the bad acts of McCain over the next several months, will these bloggers call out, by name, the MSM apologists/liars?

MY passes today's test with flying colors.

But make no mistake, things are going to get really ugly, for a long time, and to kill these pro-McCain narratives is going to require the lefty blogs alienate some Very Serious People, at a time when people will be paying close attention.

Posted by Andruw | February 22, 2008 3:28 PM

I find it strange that every time McVain is on a stage, his Wife is standing RIGHT beside him, peering over his shoulder, looking in the camera...at most events! Seems a little strange...

Posted by Mary | February 22, 2008 5:01 PM

She's keeping him upright...as it were.

Posted by Richard Steven Hack | February 23, 2008 4:37 AM

Any person running for the office of President (and by extension the position of Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces) should be required, by law, to release all military records relating directly or indirectly to his/her military service. There should be no exception.
During the last election process, the issue of John Kerry's suitability to be Commander in Chief became an unavoidable issue. Despite repeated promises, by Senator Kerry, to release his entire military record, he never did. Undoubtedly, Senator Kerry had very good reason to believe that the release of his records would permanently damage, if not destroy, his reputation and personal honor. In the end, Kerry was willing to lose his bid for the White House rather than subject himself to the scrutiny of researches and military historians.
In the present election cycle, a very similar circumstance has arisen. Another,
"Hero" of the Vietnam War seeks the White House. The citizens of this country are expected to accept, at face value, the media's version of Senator Mc Cain's
POW "Hero" status. Anyone who questions the official "history" of Mc Cain's
"distinguished military service" is attacked, has his/her patriotism questioned or branded an agent of the Democrats. This is pure unadulterated nonsense.
Senator McCain admitted (in his book, Faith on my fathers) he knew he was being treated more leniently than his fellow prisoners. He also stated, quite directly, that he had disgraced himself by confessing to be a war criminal (A self-serving admission that ignores the fact that McCain is known to have made more than two dozen broadcasts while held captive.).
Every time I listen to John McCain talk about honor and integrity, I want to puke! Even more sickening, is the endless harping on his wartime
captivity and supposed heroics. It is a stark measure of just how thoroughly corrupt and dishonest this man actually is.
McCain's only claim to fame is his POW experience. There is no doubt, whatever, that had McCain not been the son and grandson of Navy Admirals, we would never have heard of him. He probably wouldn't have survived.
Anyone who witnessed McCain's despicable behavior while serving on the Senate Committee for POW/MIA's, cannot help but be astounded by his irrational and manic performance. It is widely accepted that the Committee's conclusions are little more than a continuing effort to keep the truth from the American people. The fact that McCain was so deeply involved, in what can only be described as a charade, is proof that he lacks even a modicum of personal honor.
The media, old and new, are fully aware of these issues but, continue to treat McCain with kid gloves. When are you people going to stop pandering? When are you going to start asking the really tough questions?
As a life long Republican, Marine combat veteran of the war in Vietnam, I want to know the information Senator Mc Cain has so earnestly tried to hide. I want to know what his POW debriefing documents say. In fact, I want to know what is contained in all of the debriefing documents Senator MC Cain had Classified
and kept out of the public domain. The mantra of "for reasons of National Security" is as wholly unjustified just as the absurd notion that keeping thousands documents secret is necessary to protect the families of those left behind.
Honor? Integrity? I simply can't buy it. I certainly won't be voting for him.

Posted by richard montgomery | February 23, 2008 10:58 AM