"I Do Not Recall"

That was what McCain said in 2002 about Iseman:

ABC News has learned that McCain in 2002 was asked during a deposition about whether he remembered ever flying on a corporate jet with Alcade & Fay lobbyist Vicki Iseman, the woman in question, and he said he did not recall.

In retrospect that seems at least a curious claim. Indubitably other past comments by McCain about Iseman and her clients will receive greater scrutiny in the coming days.

McCain's aides, realizing that this could scuttle his presidential chances, are hitting back hard on this. They're denying anything and everything, but how could they not? This could ruin their chances of getting into the White House; it's not like they're going to start giggling and go "yeah, you got us, he was shtupping her?"

That's probably also why they're bleating about "partisanship" and "smear campaigns" and the like. They know what a real smear campaign is, and they know this doesn't even come close. But they'll do anything and everything to try to save their futures.)

The real story, though, is still the timing. Why now? What new bit of information fell into the hands of the Times (or someone else) that forced the Times' hand on this one? Nothing in the Times story itself was really that novel, from what I understand, so the new info must be something that isn't out yet.

And for that matter, where did it come from?