Lincoln's collapse, the biggest of many savings and loan failures, cost taxpayers $2.6 billion. Keating would spend four years in jail before his sentence was overturned on a technicality, and the Keating 5, as the senators came to be known, would live under an ethical cloud for years.
During the investigation, McCain revealed that he and Cindy had not reimbursed Keating for thousands of dollars in flights on his company jet to the Bahamas. The McCains blamed each other, reported Timberg, causing the first rift in their marriage. Then the Arizona Republic published a report about an investment Cindy McCain had made with her father in a shopping mall project owned by a Keating company.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday, September 06, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 35 words Type of Material: Correction
The imperfect hero: In Thursday's Section A, a caption for a 1961 photo accompanying a profile of John McCain gave his rank as lieutenant. When the photo was taken he was a lieutenant junior grade.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Monday, September 08, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 52 words Type of Material: Correction
"The imperfect hero": The profile of Sen. John McCain in Thursday's Section A said that Washington magazine once dubbed him "Senator Hothead." The magazine was the Washingtonian. Also, a caption for a 1961 photo with the profile gave McCain's Navy rank as lieutenant. At the time he was a lieutenant junior grade.
In 1991, McCain, along with his four Democratic colleagues, was found guilty by the Senate Ethics Committee of using "poor judgment" for attending the meetings with regulators on Keating's behalf.
"I watched John just crumble," Cindy McCain told Timberg. "I've seen the glow go out of him. This is a guy who could reach for the stars, and now he can't -- or he won't."
McCain was redeemed by the 1991 Persian Gulf War. With his military background, he became the Senate's de facto spokesman on the war, and the Keating 5 debacle began to fade. He was easily reelected to the Senate in 1992.
His brush with political death changed him. He determined that the only way to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of the public was to open himself up. He would talk to any reporter, anywhere, any time, about anything.
And by 2000, in his first presidential campaign, that outsider's impulse would be codified as the "Straight Talk Express." The unrestricted access resulted in swooning profiles. His willingness to buck his party for a while lent him an irresistible aura.
But, as in every relationship, things change.
In his Arlington, Va., office, Salter mused about the tension in the campaign between "letting McCain be McCain" -- that is, letting him be the sarcastic, witty maverick who will do and say what he pleases -- and keeping him on a leash.
"Where am I in that camp?" asked Salter. "Let McCain be McCain . . . most of the time. I sense danger more than he senses it. He's like, 'Goddamn it, grow up! Why can't you just be normal in politics?' "
You can't be normal in politics, of course, especially if you're running for president. Danger lurks where instinct trumps expediency, and McCain has struggled to find a balance between the two.
"His authenticity is his brand," said Salter. "But he pays a price for it. He pays a price for everything he does to be himself."
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robin.abcarian@latimes.com
