Campaign statement: “It is a shame that the New York Times has lowered its standards to engage in a hit and run smear campaign.”

Long-delayed story exploding in Thursday’s paper.

READ FULL MCCAIN CAMPAIGN STATEMENT HERE.

McCain’s non-response to the media Wednesday night here.

See McCain campaign document “facts that were provided to the New York Times but did not end up in the story” here.

Flashback: The Washington Post previewed the whole thing in December.

HALPERIN’S TAKE: What insiders are discussing about the McCain story.