McCain comes under fresh fire

The allegation that John McCain had an affair with a lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, during his 2000 campaign for the White House - strongly denied last week by the senator - has taken a new turn.

Following a denial from McCain's campaign headquarters that the senator ever met broadcaster Lowell Paxson, on whose behalf Iseman was lobbying, Paxson has claimed that he did meet McCain in his office in 1999 and that, several weeks later, the Arizona senator wrote two letters to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging a rapid decision be taken on Paxson's bid to acquire a Pittsburgh TV station.

Paxson also said that Vicki Iseman "likely" attended the meeting, which she had helped to arrange. Paxson told the Washington Post: "I remember going there to meet with him." He said he told McCain: "You're head of the [Senate] Commerce Committee. The FCC is not doing its job. I would love for you to write a letter."

Paxson's story contradicts the account provided by the McCain campaign about the two letters at the centre of a controversy about the senator's ties to Iseman, which began with an article in the New York Times/ last week. McCain's camp said on Thursday that the senator had not met with Paxson or Iseman on the matter.

Meanwhile, in the chase for Republican delegates, McCain received another boost on Saturday from the Pacific islands of Northern Marianas. The islands are among three US Pacific territories each voting to sending all their nine delegates to the Republican convention backing McCain.

The latest results give the Arizona senator a total of 976 delegates, according to Associated Press calculations, putting him well clear of Mike Huckabee with 254 delegates. A minimum of 1,191 delegates are needed to secure the Republican nomination. The results come against a background of increasing concern over whether McCain has the right temperament for the Oval Office.

In his latest column from the US for The First Post, Alexander Cockburn recounts a meeting between two doctors, Robin Silver and Bob Witzeman, and Senator McCain in 1992 to discuss contentious environmental issues regarding Mount Graham in Arizona.

"At the mention of the words Mount Graham, McCain erupted into a violent fit," reports Cockburn. The senator jumped up and down, screaming obscenities at the two men. "He shook his fists as if he was going to slug us," said Silver, while Witzeman left the meeting stunned. "To my mind," Witzeman said, "McCain's the most likely senator to start a nuclear war."

FIRST POSTED FEBRUARY 24, 2008