McCain Campaign Denounces New York Times Story on Relationship With Lobbyist

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.