McCain speaks out over Iseman ‘affair’

John McCain's campaign team spent Thursday desperately trying to turn to its advantage a damaging report in the New York Times - reported here yesterday - which suggested the Republican frontrunner had an affair with a 32-year-old lobbyist, Vicki Iseman (pictured), during his failed 2000 White House campaign. McCain's supporters are portraying him as a victim of a liberal media assault: some commentators believe the report might actually give McCain a much-needed boost among more conservative Republicans, who traditionally view the Times as a liberal rag.

McCain's fundraising team jumped on the report as an excuse to launch a new appeal. Campaign manager, Rick Davis, wrote in an email to potential donors: "The New York Times... has shown once again that it cannot exercise good journalistic judgment when it comes to dealing with a conservative Republican... We need your help to counteract the liberal establishment and fight back against the New York Times by making an immediate contribution today."

Meanwhile, McCain told a press conference in Ohio, where his campaigning for the March 4 primary, that there was no basis to the New York Times report. "It is not true," he said. There was no sign of his famously explosive temper; instead he spoke quietly and repeatedly emphasised his "disappointment" with the Times.

His wife, Cindy McCain, added: "My children and I not only trust my husband but, more importantly, know that he would never do anything to disappoint our family and, more importantly, disappoint America."

The Times report did not categorically claim that McCain had an affair with Iseman, a telecoms industry lobbyist. Instead, the report claimed that McCain's most senior aides were worried that he and Iseman's relationship might have become romantic after she kept showing up with him on the campaign trail - at fundraising events, in his office and once aboard a client's corporate jet. The aides were concerned for his reputation and ordered Iseman to back off, said the Times.

Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times, said on Thursday: "We think the story speaks for itself. On the timing, our policy is we publish stories when they are ready."