McCain Affair News Conference

John McCain held a press conference on the morning of February 21, 2008, to deny the suggestion, raised in a New York Times story, that he had had a sexual affair with lobbyist Vicki Iseman, 40, in 2000. McCain spoke in Toledo, Ohio with his wife Cindy beside him.

The Allegations The New York Times had reported that in 2000, during McCain's campaign for the Republian presidential nomination, McCain campaign advisers were instructed to keep Iseman away from the Senator at public events, and to limit her access to his office. This, the story seemed to indicate, was a effort to protect McCain from himself, as advisers sensed that the relationship between the two had become romantic. The Response McCain responded to the Times report as "gutter politics." Iseman has also denied the allegations. The McCain campaign team issued a statement reading, "McCain has a 24-year record of serving our country with honour and integrity. He has never violated the public trust, never done favors for special interests or lobbyists, and he will not allow a smear campaign to distract from the issues at stake in this election." Backstory The Times faced criticism for using blind sourcing in the story, against a revised policy that the paper had announced in 2003, with key details attributed to unnamed "officials" and "aides" of the McCain campaign. Critics of the campaign have charged that the story -- which suggests, but does not assert, the existence of a sexual relationship between McCain and Iseman -- was significantly less irresponsible than much of the paper's coverage of Bill Clinton, in which the Clinton White House was beset by a media ethos of scandal-du-jour. Some liberal critics have noted that the Iseman story ended up benefiting, rather than hurting, McCain, and have alleged that it was "planted" by campaign staffers. The Times has not released the names of the staffers who were quoted in the story, but stands by its reporting. Fast Facts:

1. Conference held on February 21, 2008
2. Location: Toledo, Ohio
3. McCain: "I'm disappointed in The New York Times piece."
4. Wife, Cindy, was by his side during conference
5. The New York Times report came out February 21, 2008
6. Reporters for the NYT: Jim Rutenberg, Marilyn W. Thompson, David D. Kirkpatrick and Stephen Labaton

Quote:

• I'm disappointed in The New York Times piece. It's not true

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