New York Times, February 21, 2008:

A female lobbyist had been turning up with him at fund-raisers, visiting his offices and accompanying him on a client’s corporate jet. Convinced the relationship had become romantic, some of his top advisers intervened to protect the candidate from himself — instructing staff members to block the woman’s access, privately warning her away and repeatedly confronting him, several people involved in the campaign said on the condition of anonymity.

When news organizations reported that Mr. McCain had written letters to government regulators on behalf of the lobbyist’s client, the former campaign associates said, some aides feared for a time that attention would fall on her involvement.

Mr. McCain, 71, and the lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, 40, both say they never had a romantic relationship. But to his advisers, even the appearance of a close bond with a lobbyist whose clients often had business before the Senate committee Mr. McCain led threatened the story of redemption and rectitude that defined his political identity.

The entire left blogosphere is losing their mind at the same time and I just don't see the story.

Lobbyist hounds member of Congress for political favors, gets them. Lobbyist is more conventionally attractive and younger than member of Congress. Friends and allies worry about appearances. Hard core dog-bites-man, people.

While I understand that Democrats want the Republican wounded as quickly as possibly, ideally with full-on shots of the candidate naked or, better yet, clothed in a negligee with a 22-year old football player and a farm animal in the bed at the same time, this sounds like ordinary Republican hanky-panky, i.e. moving policy to assist a corporate lobbyist's client, not a venereal eruption on McCain's part of any sort. (Yeah, made me ill to type it, too.)

Move along: we have "favorite political philosopher" and "boxers vs. briefs vs. panties" to worry about. Or, for that matter, a beautiful lunar eclipse unfolding to the south-southeast skies if your skies are as happily clear as central Maryland's are right now.