John McCain's Sweet Ride

February 28, 2008 2:08 AM

The lavishly-furnished custom Boeing 727figures in the current tempest over his relationship with female lobbyist Vicki Iseman who provided and flew with McCain on the plane. Lots of colorful background in this investigative report by Daniel Hopsicker, the best muckraker since Gary Webb

from Cannonfire

What do you get when you cross John McCain, Vicki Iseman, Christian fundamentalist broadcaster Lowell "Bud" Paxson, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, Andrew "Dice" Clay, Adnan Khashoggi, Jack Abramoff, murdered Florida casino boat mogul Gus Boulis and the "mystery flights" of escaping Saudi Royals "leaving Las Vegas" just days after the 9/11 attacks?

Why another must read investigative report by Daniel Hopsicker, of course!

posted by hortense (28 comments total)

First reaction: Holy shit.
Second reaction: If Romney's oppo team didn't spot McCain's Paxson connection, it's either crap, or Romney has even bigger skeletons in his closet.
Third reaction: Wasn't the NYT's article half-baked or what?
posted by Skeptic at 2:19 AM on February 28, 2008

That certainly is some colourful journalism.
posted by chuckdarwin at 2:40 AM on February 28, 2008

So now who you gonna believe? Me, or your own lyin' eyes?
posted by From Bklyn at 2:43 AM on February 28, 2008

If Romney's oppo team didn't spot McCain's Paxson connection, it's either crap, or Romney has even bigger skeletons in his closet.

Or Romney's team are typically incompetent Republicans.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:53 AM on February 28, 2008

Kirth : By "it's either crap", I did indeed mean Romney's oppo team, not the connection (which seems well documented in the NYT article).
posted by Skeptic at 3:08 AM on February 28, 2008

I dunno, it's just hard for me to get worked up over an article that not only cites Fantasy Island but quotes the line "da plane, da plane!"
posted by DenOfSizer at 3:45 AM on February 28, 2008

Khashoggi link is dead.
posted by Jimbob at 4:17 AM on February 28, 2008

Or Romney knew he'd need a VP who wasn't quite as empty-headed as himself. (Or that McCain would need a VP not as dodderingly out-of-touch as himself.)
posted by DU at 5:28 AM on February 28, 2008

First you get the money, then you get the power and then you get da plane!
posted by Poolio at 5:37 AM on February 28, 2008

I dunno. I'd not pass on a ride like that, sitting next to a pretty blond lady and all. And I'm totally gay. So what's the big deal? Are we to imagine that McCain is such a threat we have to sling meaningless mud? Or, are we slinging mud simply because it's kind of fun?

de pain, boss! de pain!
posted by Goofyy at 5:47 AM on February 28, 2008

Uhh....doing lobbyists favors in exchange for sex is meaningless mud because you like flying on planes?
posted by DU at 6:01 AM on February 28, 2008

Somebody give me an executive summary. That was such poorly-written, meandering crap that I couldn't make it 1/3 of the way through.
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 6:03 AM on February 28, 2008

MPDSEA beat me to it. My thought:

Is it just me, or was that incoherent garbage? Why on earth was this FPPed?
posted by Malor at 6:15 AM on February 28, 2008

From the article:

The Saudi Royal party made good their escape from Las Vegas on an airliner sporting a Christian symbol of peace, a dove, on it’s tail, an intriguing detail and compelling human interest story—Muslims flying Air Jesus—that has to date been reported nowhere but in the MadCowMorningNews.

This is some pretty ugly muslim-baiting, I think. Aside from the fact that Muslims actually revere Jesus as a prophet, the paragraph implies that somehow Muslims are dirty and corrupting or something, like their very presence is somehow abhorrent.

Also, the whole idea that flying on a 'dirty' plane that's been involved with some unsavory stuff (The author also attacks other planes McCain has ridden on) seems pretty bizzare. Charter planes are used by lots and lots of people for lots of different things.

So I'd say this author is more of a hack then a muckraker.
posted by delmoi at 6:19 AM on February 28, 2008

Uhh....doing lobbyists favors in exchange for sex is meaningless mud because you like flying on planes?

Is doing favors for lobbyists somehow worse if you're fucking 'em? I'd argue that it's less insidious then doing them simply because lobbyists are your friends, donors, and campaign staff?
posted by delmoi at 6:21 AM on February 28, 2008

Somebody give me an executive summary. That was such poorly-written, meandering crap that I couldn't make it 1/3 of the way through.

I made it all the way through, and still don't know what it said.
posted by spinturtle at 6:27 AM on February 28, 2008

Is doing favors for lobbyists somehow worse if you're fucking 'em?

I don't have an opinion either way, a state which I think is consistent with my comment.
posted by DU at 6:32 AM on February 28, 2008

If that's what passes for muckraking these days, then reporting is truly dead. Wonkette reads better than that.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 6:34 AM on February 28, 2008

Somebody give me an executive summary.

John McCain banged the Bin Laden entourage on Hervé Villechaize's 727 while doing a CIA rendition of a blond lobbyist for the Gabon national airline with Andrew Dice Clay and the owner of a quasi-Christian TV network who apparently were banging each other or Cindy McCain behind Jack Abramhoff's back, so Abramhoff had them all offed, and now McCain is running for president to avenge his wife's murder and get tail.

That's about the best I can make out. Though I may be wrong about the 727 -- John McCain may have been banging it behind the Saudis' backs.
posted by dw at 8:00 AM on February 28, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Half baked conspiracy theorist rantings by the founder of Mad Cow Press. Looking for higher quality baloney? Try Infowars. Being paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.
posted by Daddy-O at 8:51 AM on February 28, 2008

Why is it that every story on this topic uses terms like "hot" and "bombshell" when describing Iseman? I don't see it. She isn't that hot and she definitely not a bombshell, except politically, perhaps. Is it me?
posted by wsg at 9:01 AM on February 28, 2008

Yes.

You're the hot bombshell.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 9:11 AM on February 28, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

This article is a load of unsubstantiated garbage, wild speculations, and tenuous connection building. The implication is of course that Abramoff offed a cruis ship owner to get unlaundered cash to buy planes then hire out the planes to the CIA so that... that... What? So that... the 9/11 conspirators... who faked the WTC collapse... could leave the country with the Saudi Royal Family?

What? Huh?

Are we supposed to be laughing?

Delete this shit.
posted by tkchrist at 9:52 AM on February 28, 2008

Ok, I tried to trim out all the hand-waving and bullshit. Here's the short version:

Citadel hedge fund invested $32M for Abramoff to buy casino boats from Gus Boulis. But Gus only collected a couple payments before he wound up dead. Some mob guys are on trial.

Citadel also invested in Paxson's PAX-TV, now named ION, saving it from bankruptcy.

The President of Gabon paid Abramoff $9M to meet with Bush.

Shortly after 9/11, various Saudi royalty were flown out of the US. A number of aircraft were involved, including two planes connected to CIA rendition flights.

Also involved were Paxson's plane, a plane owned by Gabon, and one owned by a close friend of the Mob.

Paxson is the biggest client of Vicki Iseman's lobbying firm.

McCain used Paxson's plane four times back in 2000.

In more recent news, there is speculation that McCain may be romantically involved with Iseman, who is young enough to be his daughter.

Bottom line: McCain is a pedophile.
posted by ryanrs at 9:55 AM on February 28, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

You know, when I read about McCain banging attractive young people, it makes me want to vote for him. That's how Clinton I got my vote.
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:00 AM on February 28, 2008

That's how Clinton I got my vote.

You fucked Bill Clinton?!?
posted by tkchrist at 11:04 AM on February 28, 2008

Hey, my former employer was financially destroyed by Kashoggi! fun to see his name come up again.

In fact they were the largest brokerage failure that SIPC has had to bail out to date, and it's used in FINRA and SEC training materials as a boilerplate example of "what not to do".

Good times. I hope he's doing well. (he's Bin Laden's uncle, too!)
posted by EricGjerde at 11:34 AM on February 28, 2008

You fucked Bill Clinton?!?

You got that backwards.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:55 PM on February 28, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]