After John McCain became the presumptive Republican nominee a week or so ago, many people predicted it was only a matter of time before the media turned on its favorite maverick Republican. The New York Times wasted no time with this story.
The rumor is that the Times ran this story because the New Republic planned its own story about the Times' failure to act on this gossip. However, I think the timing is suspiciciously convenient. With Romney out of the race, McCain's nomination is all but official. But the hardcore conservative wing of the party has jumped on the bandwagon. This story could have been calculated to push the conservative outrage against McCain over the tipping point. If McCain is no longer the Republican's guy, then the nomination falls, in Dale Earnhardt's words, to the first loser. There's simply no way a weakened party can win with its second string guy.
Ironically, I'll go out on a limb and predict that this will have the opposite effect. Nothing will endear McCain to party holdouts than an innuendo laced smear campaign from the paper they hold in such disdain.
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