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Morning Open Thread: McCain Hands Out Favors After All |
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Keeping an eye on the bigger fish in this election, the NY Times reports this today:
Donald R. Diamond, a wealthy Arizona real estate developer, was racing to snap up a stretch of virgin California coast freed by the closing of an Army base a decade ago when he turned to an old friend, Senator John McCain.
When Mr. Diamond wanted to buy land at the base, Fort Ord, Mr. McCain assigned an aide who set up a meeting at the Pentagon and later stepped in again to help speed up the sale, according to people involved and a deposition Mr. Diamond gave for a related lawsuit….
For Mr. McCain, the Arizona Republican who has staked two presidential campaigns on pledges to avoid even the appearance of dispensing an official favor for a donor, Mr. Diamond is the kind of friend who can pose a test.
The article goes on to name a plethora of other favors McCain dealt to Diamond during their 26-year relationship, including sponsoring bills in the U.S. Senate to advance land exchanges, writing reference letters, and orchestrating introductions with influential people. Diamond, unsurprisingly, has been a long-time contributor and fundraiser for McCain, having raised $250K for his presidential campaign so far. (This, by the way, has earned Diamond “Innovator” status in the McCain campaign’s ridiculous nomenclature for patrons.)
All the candidates like to speak about their nobility and transparency, especially with respect to campaign contributers. McCain has been no exception in touting this rhetoric, yet his relationship with Diamond speaks to a long history of using his influence in unethical ways, something for which he owes voters an explanation. When Barack Obama faced similar accusations about his relationship with Tony Rezko in Chicago, he submitted himself for an all-access interview with the Chicago Tribune to clear up the matter. From the newspaper itself:
The most remarkable facet of Obama’s 92-minute discussion was that, at the outset, he pledged to answer every question the three dozen Tribune journalists crammed into the room would put to him. And he did.
Mr. McCain, consider the bar of transparency set.
If you have millions of dollars at your beck and call, owning the media to make sure they always show your good side is a parlor trick.
Was anyone surprised about this?