Opinion: John McCain, The Lady Lobbyist, and What It Says About the Rest of Us

By Allen Bacon
Editor
Bosco: The Blog


When the story leaked out this past week that John McCain was seen frequently in the company of a lady who was not his wife and that she was a Lobbyist for a major telecommunications firm, it stirred up a debate that has several layers to it.

Before I get to my focus of this op-ed piece, let me say I have not decided who I am voting for in the 2008 Presidential elections. In other words, this is not as much about Senator McCain as about the treatment of this story.

First of all, if we are to believe Senator McCain and his wife, and I personally do, this relationship he had with this lady is a pure friendship. I know a lot of people who think a friendship can never exist between a married man and another woman (not a wife) without turning romantic. That’s a fallacy and I have a lot of examples to prove that it is entirely possible that Senator McCain and this lady could have had a totally platonic relationship and great friendship without it turning intimate.

The real issue I wonder about is are we more concerned about the fact that a presidential candidate could have had an affair and not be as pristene as we imagined them to be or are we more concerned that he was pandering to special interests?

Let's just say for arguments sake that McCain actually had an affair with this lady...and again I believe until it is proven otherwise that it was just friendship. We need to get beyond the fact that our Presidents and Senators and anybody in political office has to be chaste as virgin snow...in other words, a higher standard than the rest of us. If we hold them to this, we are going to lose a lot of potentially great candidates. Look at our greatest presidents, or for that matter other leaders in the world we consider great in history and you will find they were not always perfect and moral people.

The interesting thing about this case is that John McCain has always set himself up as the guy who does not pander to special interests. And that's where the real story is. And as far as can be seen, he did not give this company that his friend worked for any special treatment and it didn't hurt the American people. So, what about all the free jet rides, trips, and meals he took with his friend? We need to realize this is how business gets done in Washington currently. Maybe McCain should be more careful because it gives the impression that he is pandering to special interests especially when you are leading the fight against this sort of thing. But we need to look at his voting record when it comes to the effect on his friend's company and then make a judgement. And, if he did vote in their favor it doesn't always mean it was the wrong deal either.

The last issue, is how our press and the public handles this. Let's stick to the issues of the campaign and vote who is the best and most qualified. Give John McCain and anybody else in the future who will be in his same postiion a break and stick to the real issues.