So The New York Times has released a story by a four-person investigative team alleging a potentially inappropriate relationship between Sen. John McCain, the apparent GOP nominee for president, and a lobbyist named Vicki Iseman, three decades his junior. There is no proof of an inappropriate romantic or sexual relationship, merely suspicions by staff members now said to be disgruntled. So why is the Times biting on this story? A look back at a few Clinton sex scandals suggests a different standard for Republicans and Democrats.
When Arkansas state troopers told The American Spectator and the Los Angeles Times in 1993 they secured sexual conquests for Gov. Bill Clinton, we found:
As in the Gennifer Flowers case, the Times initially buried Clinton's sex scandal in small wire stories on the back pages. Washington Bureau Chief R.W. Apple proclaimed "The New York Times is not a supermarket tabloid." But the Times ran a front-page Maureen Dowd story the day before the release of Kitty Kelley's book -- without any of Kelley's critics, or any attempt to prove Kelley's allegations [that Nancy Reagan had an affair with Frank Sinatra]. The Times also ran a 1991 Fox Butterfield article which revealed the name of William Kennedy Smith's accuser and described her "wild streak," her fondness for drinking, and her speeding tickets.
In 1999, when Juanita Broaddrick came forward to charge Bill Clinton with sexual assault in a Little Rock hotel when he was attorney general of Arkansas, once again, the Times tried to be last and least:
The newspaper that published Kitty Kelley’s allegations about Nancy Reagan’s sex life on page one also touched the Broaddrick story as a media critique, lamenting that "smaller outlets on the Internet and cable television" are "overwhelming the slower and more sober judgments of mainstream news organizations." The Times followed up with a short mention from White House reporter James Bennet and a few TV articles from reporter Lawrie Mifflin.
The "news" alleging adultery against McCain is not "fit to print."
