The New York Times recently published an article alleging that McCain has a romantic relationship with a lobbyist for his campaign. McCain emphatically denied this allegation, but the Times stood by their story.
It is interesting to note the proportion of Democrats versus Republicans who believed McCain or the Times. According to an article on Yahoo News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_campaignplus/20080304/ap_ca/on_the2008_trail), 2/3 of Republicans said they believe McCain about the matter and 4/5 of Democrats said they believe the Times.
I think this is a bit pathetic, quite frankly. I understand that this is a very bipartisan country, but I think that people are so blinded by their political party that they automatically believe whatever that party, or an association or person linked to that party, tells them. I personally am a staunch Democrat, but I see no reason to disbelieve McCain. McCain, in my memory, has always been straightforward and honest. Furthermore, I can't see any reason why anyone would want to cheat on that man's wife.
I think that we as a country need to evaluate our sources more carefully. I'm not saying that McCain is necessarily innocent... I'm just saying that's what I personally believe. If you've considered the information given and come to another conclusion, that's fine. I just think that Democrats ought to think a bit about what generally liberal news sources, like the New York Times, are telling them. The same goes for Republicans. A democracy can only work when we think for ourselves, and I think that this issue was so divided by partisan lines only shows that we have a long way to go to attain an ideal democracy in this country.
