Right Rallies to Mccain Over 'hatchet Job'

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

By yesterday morning the newspaper had received more than 2,400 emails accusing it of a "hatchet job" and "gutter journalism" for its report on the connections between Senator McCain, 71, and the lobbyist Vicki Iseman, 40, during the former's first run for president in 2000.

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

A New York Post editorial described the 3,000-word Times report a "drive-by shooting masquerading as a newspaper story". McCain has now been embraced by two of his harshest critics, the rightwing chat show hosts Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham, who pointed to the story as evidence of a media conspiracy against the Republican party.

The Christian Broadcasting Network said the story was a "conservative badge of honor", while a posting on a blog for the conservative biweekly National Review said: "I'm the typical conservative who has not been happy with the McCain ascendancy, but the NY Times 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.

The New Republic magazine, in its own investigation, said the story had been in gestation for months as Times reporters tried to persuade their editor, Bill Keller, to publish. The existence of the story was reported online on the Drudge Report last December, and that McCain and his lawyers had discussed the story with the newspaper.

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

"'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 on the Times' website on Wednesday night, said that McCain had grown so close to Iseman that aides feared it could jeopardize his political career. It added that he had flown in a private jet owned by a media firm that was one of her clients, and that he had written two letters to federal regulator concerning that firm.

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

But he continues to face questions about his commitment to changing the rules governing how election campaigns are financed following a dispute with the Federal Election Commission. McCain, a leading advocate of reform, now wants to withdraw from the public financing of his election run so that he can raise money without limit.

The FEC on Thursday said that McCain must first address a $4m (£2m) loan he obtained for his current campaign, using the promise of matching government funds as collateral.