John McCain has enjoyed laudatory Mainstream Media coverage for so long it’s understandable he’s mad at The New York Times.

The Times finally broke a story – which apparently has been an open secret among insiders for two months – about a potentially unethical relationship between McCain and a lobbyist eight years ago.

The story is overshadowed by the sexual innuendo.

But if you carefully read the Times story, it raises legitimate questions about whether Senator McCain is truly Senator Integrity. Especially when two former McCain aides, even if they are anonymous, say that key advisers were so concerned they confronted McCain about the relationship

The McCain response is to blast the Times for allegedly shoddy reporting – and a liberal hit on a True Conservative.

But the real issue is whether McCain has had a closer relationship (please ignore the inescapable innuendo) with Washington lobbyists than his image would suggest. Ironically, one of the McCain aides most adamantly attacking the Times is super-lobbyist Charlie Black.

I blogged last week about the exceptionally positive coverage that McCain and Barack Obama have enjoyed in this campaign. Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Mitt Romney have been envious.

But both McCain and Obama are being reminded that, eventually, the media dog bites all ankles.

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