With the world still sorting through the implications of the lady lobbyist sorta-scandal, John McCain got back on the trail today as if nothing had happened–a 30-minute town hall in Indianapolis, followed by about 30-minutes of questions from the audience, and nary a mention of the New York Times story. (Before he was introduced, someone on the stage did make a joke about canceling his Times subscription.)
After no one in the audience brought up the issue, the national press tried to keep it alive, by asking him about his campaign’s assaults on the Times. McCain did not bite. “I do not have any more comment about this issue,” McCain said, noting that he had answered questions about the Times story Thursday morning. “I do not intend to address the issue further.”
And it seemed to work. As is his traditional style, he stood for quite a while answering questions from the press on other issues, from the economy, his outreach to the black and youth vote, the recent FEC opinion on his ability to decline public financing, and the number of lobbyists working on his campaign. “These people have honorable records,” he said of his staff.
It was, all in all, a good morning, following a difficult day. The campaign is moving on, beyond the tension and relative silence that typified yesterday afternoon, when his most interesting public utterance was “Play Abba.” My story on the campaign’s tense Thursday afternoon is here.
