But several other journalism watchers said the Times left too many questions unanswered and, by raising the possibility of a romantic relationship rather than focusing on improprieties directly related to his role as a public official, hurt its own cause.
(The story said only that McCain aides were concerned about a possible romantic relationship with Iseman, not that one existed. Both the senator and lobbyist denied that they had been romantically involved.)
"If McCain had these ethical blind spots, that is absolutely a legitimate story," said Arlene Morgan, an associate dean at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. "But when you go to press with something like this and you haven't covered all your bases or been transparent about where you got the information . . . then the criticism takes over and the story loses its significance."
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, said the newspaper should have focused on whether the senator acted for, or against, Iseman's clients and whether the actions were inconsistent with his guiding philosophies. Focusing on an affair is, she said, far less relevant.
"You owe it to the public to answer those [public policy] questions," Jamieson said, "or you cannot sustain the implications of your argument."
Two Times staffers familiar with the story noted that it had been subjected to repeated editing and revisions and was reviewed by lawyers.
One blamed the reworking for a murky reference on an important point: The story said that two former associates -- who were not named -- confronted McCain and that he "acknowledged behaving inappropriately and pledged to keep his distance from Ms. Iseman."
Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, said that does not make clear the nature of the "inappropriate" behavior to which McCain allegedly admitted. "The phrasing is just too vague," Rosenstiel said.
Asked about the reference to unspecified "inappropriate" behavior, Times Editor Keller said by e-mail: "I wish I could enlighten you further, but the wording of the stories was very carefully conservative, and if we felt comfortable being more specific, we'd have done it in the story."
The Washington Post also reported on the McCain- Iseman relationship in its Thursday editions, but without any reference to an alleged romantic connection. Other papers, including the New York Times-owned Boston Globe, also ran the Post story focusing on the lobbying relationship.
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james.rainey@latimes.com
