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Where Does the McCain Story Go?

By Matt Cooper

I tend to think the story will die down, but I thought, for the longest time, Clinton and Romney would be the nominees so who the hell knows? Here's what I'd watch for in the next day or so to see if the story has legs:

Will Weaver do TV? Jon Weaver, the former McCain adviser, is the on-the-record lynchpin of the story. Without him going on the record, I doubt the Times would have run with the story. Weaver was jettisoned in last year's campaign shakeup and would seem to have some bitterness here. But that said, does he want to keep it going? I think if he was going to go on air, he'd have done it by now.

Will Iseman do TV? Is she going to put out a statement or even make a TV appearance after her denials to the Times? I doubt it. Without her any allegations of a romantic relationship with McCain--and right now all the Times has is concerns from some unnamed staffers--that part of the story goes nowhere if it ever existed at all.

What has McCain done for other lobbyists? The biggest fallout of the whole episode is probably an examination by news outlets of McCain and lobbying. Has McCain been persuaded by lobbyists? (Not that there's anything wrong with that, as Jerry Seinfeld would say.) Any help McCain has given any industry gets new scrutiny.

Did anyone working for McCain now juice the story? I bet there's a real hunt on for anyone who might have aided and abetted the Times story.

Will it lead to a spike in fundraising? I just got a solicitation from McCain Campaign Manager Rick Davis asking for money and railing against liberals and their allies at the New York Times. It just might work, although GOP fundraising is so far below Obama-levels that it will seem puny by comparison.

Will Huckabee goose the story? So far he's smartly staying away from it. Will he keep doing that?

Does Mitt Romney stay quiet? You have to wonder what he's thinking. Did he get a sudden frisson that McCain might collapse and he'd be the nominee? Even if he did, he's not going to pipe up unless it's to defend McCain.

Will the Times take another black eye? So far media reaction has been mixed. My own take is that the story just cleared the bar for publication in some form although the window dressing of it being, oh, just part of a candidate series was ridiculous. That said, the Times is taking a lot of lumps today. Is this going to speed the Keller succession?

Will Clinton and Obama weigh in? No reason for Clinton, for whom my spouse works, to get into anything involving unwanted female visitors. Hard to see the upside for Obama either. Still, they could goose the story.

I was on CNBC earlier today. By the time I left the green room, MSNBC was putting a lot of its efforts into the Nevada rapist. I suspect the McCain story will fade, but let's see.

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Full post as published by Portfolio.com: Capital on February 21, 2008 (boomark / email).