McCain's Ties To Lobbyist Worried Aides  —  Before 2000 Campaign, Advisers Tried to Bar Her  —  Aides to Sen. John McCain confronted a telecommunications lobbyist in late 1999 and asked her to distance herself from the senator during the presidential campaign he was about to launch …

THE MCCAIN STORY  —  This afternoon, before the Times story came out, I was working on a post about national political reporters' tendency not to give much of any scrutiny to various McCain flipflops, contradictions and bamboozlements.  Obviously, the terrain has changed a bit since …

Bonus TNR Angle on the McCain Story  —  The McCain campaign is apparently blaming TNR for forcing the Times' hand on this story.  We can't yet confirm that.  But we can say this: TNR correspondent Gabe Sherman is working on a piece about the Times' foot-dragging on the McCain story …

Slimes At The Times  —  The New York Times launches its long-awaited smear of John McCain today, and the most impressive aspect of the smear is just how baseless it is.  They basically emulate Page Six at the Post, but add in a rehash of a well-known scandal from twenty years ago to pad it out and make it look more impressive.

First-Blush Reaction  —  The Times doesn't have the goods—at least from what's in the story—and shouldn't have run it.  Let's be honest: this story is all about the alleged affair, and all the Keating Five and campaign finance reform re-hash is window dressing.  A key passage:

THE TIMES UPHOLDS ITS STANDARDS  —  The New York Times smears John McCain in tomorrow's paper, accusing him of ethics violations and insinuating that he had an affair with a lobbyist.  What is most striking, though, if you actually read the story, is how thin it is.

Who is John McCain?  —  Here's the deal, folks: The New York Times has some damaging goods on John McCain, reportedly involving a female lobbyist.  McCain threatened legal action if the Times printed the story.  The Times backed off... for now.  But you can be sure the Times will unload on McCain if he nails down the GOP nomination.

McCain Senior Adviser Responds to Times Story  —  Mark Salter, John McCain's obstreperous senior aide, just responded to Time's query about the New York Times's long-simmering McCain-mixed-up-with-lobbyists story.  —  Speaking from a parking garage in Toledo, where the campaign is overnighting …

What's the Quickest Way to Rally Conservatives 'Round McCain?  —  A sandbagging from the NYT of just this skeezy a nature.  —  This doesn't reflect badly on anyone but the Times, as far as I'm concerned.  The innuendo and full-on craptastic nature of the lede alone is enough to damn …

Navy Missile Hits Spy Satellite  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - A missile launched from a Navy ship successfully struck a dying U.S. spy satellite passing 130 miles over the Pacific on Wednesday, a defense official said.  Full details were not immediately available.  —  It happened just after 10:30 p.m. EST.