The Unasked Question About the McCain Story

It's understandable, if unfortunate, that the angle that most appeals to TV news talking heads -- would-be journalists, after all -- is the journalistic angle: why did the Times run the story now, why on the front page, why did it grant anonymity to the sources, etc.

But there is a question a real journalist might want to pursue, and so the Fantasy Assignment Desk points to this paragraph from the Times story:

Like other presidential candidates, he has relied on lobbyists to run his campaigns. Since a cash crunch last summer, several of them -- including his campaign manager, Rick Davis, who represented companies before Mr. McCain's Senate panel -- have been working without pay, a gift that could be worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept, is simply to find out whether Rick Davis is working "without pay", or without pay from the campaign -- and, if the latter, who might be paying him.

Comments

[LeoMarvin]

The New York Times screwed the same pooch with this story that CBS did with Memogate. They both got sloppy with an incidental detail -- that's right, the sexual affair, if any, is an incidental detail -- turning the media attention toward their own incompetence and damaged credibility, and away from the important, now largely ignored story of lobbyest influence.

Idiots.

[BOfever]

Give me some evidence of a relationship with a lobbyist and then the evidence of a changed vote. Then you have a story.

[tsugury]

The Real McCain: Senator Gets Millions from Lobbyist "Friends" [VIDEO]

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/election08/77541/

[FreeThinkn1]

The real story is about McCain"s questionable dealings with Ms. Iseman and her clients Lowell W. Paxson and Glencairn; the McCain letters to the FCC (threatening re-organization); and that he is contradicting his 2002 deposition. He"s either lying now or he lied under oath. Apparently, none of this is as important as an unsubstantiated sex story that no one outside of the beltway is interested in.

I wonder who has the NYT by the short and curlies?

[DLSteinhardt]

Thanks for focusing the question so succinctly and well.

[augustus]

Another unasked question might be the one Karl Rove addressed in the 2000 primaries, referring to McCain's mental stability, or, is he nuts? Karl is now one of McCain's best friends. An American hero tortured in Viet Nam, vehemently against torture/waterboarding, now sells his soul to the rightwing and votes against a ban on waterboarding/torture. The campaign finance reformer, now has a campaign run by lobbyists, gaming the FEC rules on public fund spending caps. The straight talking maverick for the common man voting against the Bush tax cuts for the rich, now all for making them permanent. Immigration amnesty? No way, Jose.
Religious/alternate lifestyle intolerance? Not from this adulterer. The environmentalist=Zero votes. Iraq: the sequel, the 100 year war in the making, and the spin off, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran! Maybe the rightwing conservatives are "torturing" McCain into their Manchurian Candidate, or maybe he is nuts!

[darthmaul]

These Lobbyist Staffers don't work for free because they love America and John McCain. They have placed their bets, and expect to collect big time when (or a big if) McCain gets into the white house.It's Quid pro quo baby, all the way!

[milo9]

That's a damn good point but don't expect journalists from the L.A. Times to be up to the challenge. Is it how they're taught, how they're hired, or how they're edited?

[nomobull]

my feeling is that there is more.

[MizJ]

It makes you long for the great reporters and editors of days gone by. The media is so beholden to the corporations that any reasoned reader has to wonder wherein exactly lies the truth. Fair and balanced are words that hold about as much meaning as "my friends" and "change". We live on platitudes, titillation, innuendo, and denigration. America is on the decline and we can all take a healthy dose of this travesty unto ourselves. It is us who refuse to hold these pols and analysts to uphold the truth. It is so much easier to buy into whatever message is for sale that day.

[realistxxx]

My friends, Lobbyists are honorable men and women. Indeed, most of my friends are lobbyists. As a DC insider for my entire public life, my friends, I can assure you that lobbyists are my friends. How can America be swayed by hope and inspiraion by an outsider when, my friends, I am an insider and my friends are DC lobbyists.

Do not put aside the politics as usual, my friends, for those that would betray my friends, the lobbyists!

Oh yeah, war for 100 more years... Huzzah!

[LeonBNJ]

The real story is the massive corruption of our political leaders like Sen. McCain by the corporate lobbists and their promises of political campaign monies. While nothing new and indeed deeply established in our government, we need to break apart most of this access, to make sure other and opposing views are presented, that campaign contributions are no longer quid pro quoes for corporate benefits of legisgation. Perhaps it may mean we decide not to reelect long running officeholders of either party, or maybe putting pressure on our politicans to accept only public funding of campaigns, making them live like other Americans and have to pay out of pocket their and their familiy's medical insurance costs and retirement costs.
Until we make a priority that our politicans have to do what is best for the majority and out country on many issues instead of the tiny minority of the richest and of our large corporations profits, the overwhelming number of Americans will continue to lose.

[Chip1222]

Thank you, once again, for cutting through the clutter and getting to the real issues. Wonder what the Times didn't print.

[hopeless277]

No one is paying him! He is a patriot and believes, like most Americans, that more wars and less jobs are the keys to the future of America. He knows, as do all Americans, that John McCain may take money and favors from lobbyists for writing letters and intervening on the behalf of their clients, but his ethics are beyond reproach and should never be questioned. Mr. Davis sees John McCain, as do all Americans, as a great American hero and as such, should be off limits to all questions regarding his integrity. I, as do all Americans, am shocked at any alligation that a sitting Senator would do special favors for anyone. Anyone making such alligations is a trator and a terrorist. SNARK!

[Gmoney1]

This is my question - Is he hiding his daughter that is of dark-complexion for a reason? If I wanted to vote for him this would be a lingering question for me -

[Star123]

I believe she is adopted and from India. Look it up...

[bigpat]

Bangladesh.

[TXfemmom]

All these hacks on his campaign are receiving their pieces of silver from their sponsors, and they are keeping McCain on focus to do whatever they say and want.

After all, McCain said for years that torture was wrong, but all of a sudden he had an epiphany and said, well, I guess it isn't so bad after all.