Ombudsman Agrees, McCain Article Out of Line

The Ombudsman for the New York Times has come out critical of the Times insinuation that Senator John McCain had an inappropriate relationship with a female lobbyist last week.

Cartoonist - Gary Varvel

From the AFP via Breitbart.com:

“The newspaper found itself in the uncomfortable position of being the story as much as publishing the story, in large part because, although it raised one of the most toxic subjects in politics — sex — it offered readers no proof that McCain and (Vicki) Iseman had a romance,” public editor Clark Hoyte wrote in the Times’ online edition.

“The article was notable for what it did not say,” wrote Hoyte in his column to be published Sunday. “It did not say what convinced the advisers that there was a romance.

“It did not make clear what McCain was admitting when he acknowledged behaving inappropriately — an affair or just an association with a lobbyist that could look bad,” he said of alleged comments McCain made to his advisers.

“A newspaper cannot begin a story about the all-but-certain Republican presidential nominee with the suggestion of an extramarital affair with an attractive lobbyist 31 years his junior and expect readers to focus on anything other than what most of them did. … The stakes are just too big.”

“The pity of it is that, without the sex, the Times was on to a good story,” Hoyt added, recalling that McCain, 71, had been reprimanded in the past for cozying up to lobbyists — the influence of money in politics is a recurring issue in Congress.

Cartoonist - Jerry Holbert

An Ombudsman is an official (originally English government official) who investigates complaints. Obviously, there was much to complain about in the New York Times article.

What made me believe that the article was all wet is the fact that agree with him or not, he doesn’t distort his perception of the truth. He honestly felt like his amnesty bill wasn’t amnesty in spite of the fact that the rest of his own party was telling him it was. John McCain is an honest man for a politician. So when he came out first thing in the morning to discredit this story, that showed me one of two things. He’s either telling the truth or he’s playing good politics. I’m shying away from good politics because to this point he hasn’t been.

Good politicking would require a refined use of rhetoric that would persuade others to join your cause(s). McCain proved during the amnesty debate that he is incapable of doing so because if he were, it would have passed.

So the Ombudsman of the paper who slung the mud is now criticizing his employer for doing so. Nice…

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