However, I do not believe that the silly season started with Clinton or Obama. The credit of going silly should be given to The New York Times for claiming a “romantic relationship” between McCain and the middle-aged blonde and charming lobbyist Vicki Iseman.. Especially for calling the relationship “romantic, that there is nothing we can check, no one we can ask, no digging we can do.” However, these days people are talking about this “romantic relationship,” referring to the Times article. I don’t know how the Times can handle the ethical issue of that particular sentence, but I know that the silly season has truly arrived.

It’s not just Times going tabloid – a news show on CNN even referred to it as: “Tabloid Times?” — because when it is a silly season, anybody could go silly, especially when nobody is sure who is behind some of these attacks. The rumors about Clinton and her personal aide, Huma Abedin, are one example. The attempt by mainstream media and particularly right-wing websites to play on the “Obama” and “Osama” similarity in sounds is another.

Silly claims such as those of lesbianism and Islamic extremism could have found “a fertile ground” for the general elections. After all, the silly season has just started.
-Omid Memarian
Photo Credit:Left: DON’T GO THERE: BRIT PAPER STARTS ‘UGLIEST MONTH’(Drudge Report), Middle- Clinton: ‘Shame on you, Barack Obama’ (CNN Politics), Right:Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., right, is dressed as a Somali Elder by Sheikh Mahmed Hassan, left, photo from Aug. 27, 2006. (AP Photo)

McCain and telecom lobbyist Vicki Iseman (who bears somewhat of a resemblance to Cindy McCain — see photo below) were spending so much time time together that during the Senator’s 2000 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, some of his aides intervened to keep the relationship — which both parties maintain was nothing more than friendship — from becoming fodder for the media.

Ok, now back to The Times. In the article, McCain’s involvement with the Keating scandal is regurgitated (though it may not be news — its certainly fair game, especially because kids born after the savings and loan scandals of the 1980s are now old enough to vote). The main point of the piece is that although McCain is now the poster boy for campaign finance reform, the Senator’s straight talk evolved out of his own history of questionable judgment.

Because of its use of anonymous sources and innuendo about the affair that may or may not have taken place, the article has itself become a hot news item. A piece almost as long as the Times story on the website for The New Republic criticizes the paper for using anonymous sources, and suggests that the threshold of fact normally present in the Times is missing in the article. The TNR story also outlines a dispute between the Times reporters on the story and Executive Editor Bill Keller that caused the piece to sit in editorial limbo for months. Romenesko has also picked it up.

Wherever you stand on this, the article is worth a look.

Personally, I was left sort of shaking my head. The story was a lot like a latte: a lot of froth and very little substance.

One thing though, according to the TNR story, McCain hired ex-Clinton defense attorney Bob Bennett to help him deal with The Times during the course of their investigation. Call me crazy, but nothing says “I cheated” quite like hiring a former Clinton lawyer.

Mason Cohn

Former President George H.W. Bush endorsed John McCain’s presidential campaign this Monday, a move McCain hinted at on Friday. But the President’s Day aspect had a nice touch to it, so Bush used the holiday to speak about McCain’s “conservative values,” reemphasize his war history, and formally back him for president. The nomination is intended to attract more conservative Republican support for a man who is also backed by independents like Joe Lieberman.

So why not the son? President Bush was in Africa during the announcement but he told “Fox News Sunday” last weekend that he will advocate for McCain’s conservative credentials after the official nomination.

Until then, McCain’s advisors are ensuring Bush stays far away from the candidate. They won’t be seen together during much of the campaign, The New York Times reported on Monday. The current president could push away the independents and moderate Democrats that McCain needs. The approval rating among that group is virtually nonexistent. But someone needs to replace President Bush in grappling for conservative votes. Enter the father.

The question is, does the former president have enough sway to ignite a group whose approval of his son is declining?