McCain and Ethics
Via Steve Benen we see that the The New York Times took a day that everyone's focus was on the Pennsylvania primary, to focus on John McCain's ethical problems:
Courting local officials and potential partners, Mr. Diamond’s team promised that he could “help get through some of the red tape in dealing with the Department of the Army” because Mr. Diamond “has been very active with Senator McCain,” a partner said in a deposition.
For Mr. McCain, the Arizona Republican who has staked two presidential campaigns on pledges to avoid even the appearance of dispensing an official favor for a donor, Mr. Diamond is the kind of friend who can pose a test.
What kinds of "test" would Mr. Diamond pose for McCain?
As Benen put it:
McCain helped a wealthy and generous donor by land from the Army — complete with special water rights — for a quarter of a million dollars, which McCain’s buddy then sold two years later for $20 million. There’s a term for this — it’s called “influence peddling,” and it’s exactly the kind of thing McCain swears he never gets involved with.
If the Rezko story was considered a big deal by campaign reporters, the Donald Diamond issue should be huge. Why the New York Times ran this the day of the Pennsylvania primary, when it’s likely to get lost in the shuffle, is a mystery to me. If this same story ran on Thursday morning, it would have become the talk of the political world in a hurry.
For one, it is nice to see some focus on John McCain that isn't all adulatory, however, the choice of day to run this story is questionable.
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