New York Times Faces Backlash After Mccain Article

The New York Times came under fire from an unlikely alliance of rightwing talk show hosts and liberal bloggers for a story that alleged John McCain had improperly used his influence on behalf of a woman lobbyist.

By this morning, the newspaper had received more than 2,400 email accusing it of a "hatchet job" and "gutter journalism" for reporting on the connections between McCain, 71, and the lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, 40, during the senator's first run for the White House in 1999.

McCain, who appeared at a subdued press conference in Ohio with his wife, Cindy, denied any romantic involvement with Iseman or using his influence on her behalf.

An editorial in the rival New York Post called the 3,000 word report a "drive-by shooting masquerading as a newspaper story".

McCain, meanwhile, was embraced by some who had been among his harshest critics with rightwing chat show hosts Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham holding up the story as evidence of a media conspiracy against the Republican party.

The Christian Broadcasting Network said the story by the Times was a "conservative badge of honor".

A posting on the National Review's blog, the corner, said: "I'm the typical conservative who has not been happy with the McCain ascendancy, but the NYTimes has accomplished what Tojo did with Pearl Harbor. They have awoken a sleeping giant. We have been reminded who the real enemy is and it is not Senator McCain."

Media critics questioned the Times' reliance on anecdotes nearly a decade old from unidentified McCain aides instead of named sources.

The New Republic, meanwhile, in its own investigation of the Times' article describes a story that had been in gestation for months as frustrated reporters tried to persuade the paper's editor, Bill Keller, to publish.

The existence of the Times' piece was reported on the Drudge Report last December, and McCain and his lawyers had discussed the story with the newspaper.

The Times defended the story on both counts. "On the substance, we think the story speaks for itself. On the timing, our policy is, we publish stories when they are ready," Keller said in a statement.

"'Ready' means the facts have been nailed down to our satisfaction, the subjects have all been given a full and fair chance to respond, and the reporting has been written up with all the proper context and caveats."

The story, which first appeared online on Wednesday night, said that McCain had grown so close to Iseman aides feared it could jeopardize his political career.

It said McCain had flown in a private jet owned by a media firm that was one of Iseman's clients, and that he had written two letters to federal regulators concerning the firm.

The outpouring against the Times could shield McCain from potentially serious fallout from the story - particularly the suggestion that he has failed to live up to his claims to resist the influence of big-monied interest in politics.

However, McCain continues to face questions about his commitment to ethics reform because of a dispute with the Federal Election Commission.

McCain, a leading advocate of campaign finance reform, now wants to withdraw from public financing of his election campaign so that he can raise money without limit.

The Federal Election Commission yesterday said that McCain must first address a $4 million loan he obtained for his campaign, using the promise of matching government funds as collateral.