McCain's blonde bombshell

Article from: Herald Sun

Stefanie Balogh

February 22, 2008 12:00am

REPUBLICAN John McCain has denied bombshell allegations romantically linking him to a female political lobbyist eight years ago.

Senator McCain yesterday described as a "smear campaign" a report in The New York Times that alleges during his first run for the White House he was allegedly involved with 40-year-old blonde Vicki Iseman.

His aides at the time were so convinced the relationship had become romantic they blocked the Washington lobbyist's access to Senator McCain, warned her to keep away and intervened to "protect the candidate from himself", the Times reported.

It anonymously quoted two of Senator McCain's former associates, who said they "joined in a series of confrontations" and warned him he was risking the 2000 campaign and his career.

"Both said Mr McCain acknowledged behaving inappropriately and pledged to keep his distance from Ms Iseman," the report said. The senator lost the 2000 nomination to George Bush.

Senator McCain, married to second wife Cindy McCain, and Ms Iseman denied they were ever romantically involved, or that Senator McCain had shown her or her telecommunications clients any favouritism when he chaired the powerful Senate commerce committee.

The Times had been sitting on the story for several weeks, and apparently chose not to run the expose before the Iowa and New Hampshire presidential nominating contests in January after intense lobbying from the McCain camp.

McCain Under Fire ~MSNBC VIDEO~
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