I knew that, eventually, the rabid dimwits like Lush Limbaugh would realize ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend.’ So, the NYTimes has goaded the Far Wrong to reconsider Big Mac. The Times provides cover for a perfect flip-flop by Limbaugh and his ilk. I frankly don’t care if McCain screwed a lobbyist. I care about whether he did favors for her and her clients. I care about McCain’s judgment and sense.

For McCain, Self-Confidence on Ethics Poses Its Own Risk – New York Times 

It had been just a decade since an official favor for a friend with regulatory problems had nearly ended Mr. McCain’s political career by ensnaring him in the Keating Five scandal. In the years that followed, he reinvented himself as the scourge of special interests, a crusader for stricter ethics and campaign finance rules, a man of honor chastened by a brush with shame.

But the concerns about Mr. McCain’s relationship with Ms. Iseman underscored an enduring paradox of his post-Keating career. Even as he has vowed to hold himself to the highest ethical standards, his confidence in his own integrity has sometimes seemed to blind him to potentially embarrassing conflicts of interest. …

Mr. Keating, a Phoenix financier and real estate developer, became an early sponsor and, soon, a friend. He was a man of great confidence and daring, Mr. McCain recalled in his memoir. “People like that appeal to me,” he continued. “I have sometimes forgotten that wisdom and a strong sense of public responsibility are much more admirable qualities.”

During Mr. McCain’s four years in the House, Mr. Keating, his family and his business associates contributed heavily to his political campaigns. The banker gave Mr. McCain free rides on his private jet, a violation of Congressional ethics rules (he later said it was an oversight and paid for the trips). They vacationed together in the Bahamas. And in 1986, the year Mr. McCain was elected to the Senate, his wife joined Mr. Keating in investing in an Arizona shopping mall.

For McCain, Self-Confidence on Ethics Poses Its Own Risk – New York Times

Am I the only one disturbed by Cindy McCain? Is she a trophy wife (2nd, 3rd) or really well-preserved? At one appearance, Cindy and McCain’s mom both dressed in red power-suits — I thought I was seeing double. mjh