by Gary Sacco

Created on: February 24, 2008   Last Updated: January 05, 2011

I'd like to thank the right wing lout who interrupted my peaceful lunch this past Thursday afternoon, at a local pizzeria. His problems began when CNN ran Senator John McCain's angry response to the New York Times article "For McCain, Self-Confidence on Ethics Poses its Own Risk". McCain intensely informed the world that he never, ever, had an improper relationship, of any kind, with former telecommunications lobbyist Vicki Iseman. The pizzeria patron, with a full stomach and venom in his heart, blasted "the liberal, yellow New York Times". He indignantly condemned the Newspaper's audacity in claiming that the Senator and this young, attractive lobbyist had an affair. "Another person that didn't read the article", I thought. The national media, and many Americans, are either misinformed, confused, or intentionally trying, like a chiropractor, to twist and manipulate the news.

Yes, the article was controversial, provocative and merited a McCain response. The story was certainly written in a nuanced and possibly tricky style. The Times should address whether any deceit was involved. They can be criticized for cloudy semantics and, possibly, whether the story was news, or opinion. Editor Bill Keller's decision to run with the story, driven by anonymous sources, was risky, and gutsy. However, the story was appropriate, widely misread, or probably not even looked at. I'd wager many of the article's most stringent critics relied on the media's portrayal, not personal interpretations. The piece unquestionably raises valid points regarding the probable Republican Presidential candidate. I envision right winger's heads exploding all over the nation, peeved by the paper's unnamed sources. Times officials feel these sources are solid. Remember right wing friends, anonymous sources do occasionally provide the narrative for big stories. Remember Deep Throat? While McCain was endorsed by the paper, as their NY Primary choice, when it still mattered, he probably is no longer their horse in this race. Yet, in this modern political culture, where nothing is sacred, the article was neither sensationalist, nor yellow. The political pandering accusation must be taken with a grain of salt. Ironically, many of the most vociferous Times haters are FOX News fans. They may believe in the "fair and balanced" credo. Pathetically, FOX regularly practices the most virulent form of political cheer leading and biased news coverage.

Factually, and technically, the article never, ever unequivocally

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