Dean Ties McCain To Republican 'Culture Of Corruption'
By Rebecca Adelman, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008
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Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean dove into the controversy surrounding the New York Times story indicating that John McCain may have had an improper relationship with a lobbyist, telling "National Journal On Air" today that he believes McCain is part of the "culture of corruption" in Washington.
McCain, he charged, "is talking all the time about being a reformer and a maverick, and in fact, he has taken thousands of dollars from corporations, ridden on their corporate jets, and then turned around and tried to do favors for them and get projects approved. He has tons of lobbyists on his staff."
Dean brushed off statements from the McCain campaign that the Times' story is untrue and unfair, arguing that McCain has been involved in ethical scrapes in the past. He cited the so-called Keating Five scandal of the 1980s, in which McCain and four other senators were accused of doing favors for Lincoln Savings and Loan chief Charles Keating. Keating went to prison for his role in the bank's collapse. Three other senators were censured. McCain was given a lighter punishment, a reprimand. He has repeatedly expressed shame for his role in the scandal and devoted much of his Senate career to reforming the campaign finance system.
In the interview, Dean insisted McCain will be vulnerable to questions about his ethics in the 2008 presidential campaign. "McCain is part of the corruption problem in Washington. He has done things that are legally questionable," he argued. McCain, he added "doesn't seem to really have an ethical compass."
Read the transcript of the entire interview here.