The Absurdity [and Irony] of the Keating 5 Smear

Absurdity

In an interview, Bennett said McCain should never have been dragged into the ethics case to begin with. He said that after his own lengthy investigation, he came to the conclusion that the case against McCain and former Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio) “should have been dropped” because the evidence suggested that once McCain understood that the Justice Department was investigating Keating, he backed off any involvement. Dowd noted that McCain threw Keating,once a strong supporter, out of his office after Keating pressed him to intervene in his case.

Bennett said former Sen. Howell Hefflin (D-Ala.) insisted that the two be included in the formal public inquiry because otherwise there would have been a month of public hearings “with no Republicans in the dock.” The other members of the Keating Five were Democrats.

“It was clear that McCain should not have been at the table nor should Glenn,” Bennett said. “I felt it was unfair for McCain to be included as part of the Keating Five.” Bennett stressed that he was not speaking as part of the campaign, though he noted he also represented McCain in his recent battles with the New York Times.

McCain Lawyers Push Back on Obama Keating Five Charges by Michael Abramowitz

Irony

“You don’t get introduced by John Glenn every day,” Bruce Springsteen said yesterday at an Obama get-out-the-vote rally at Ohio State University, as reported by the Columbus Dispatch.

Former Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, was — along with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. — one of the Keating Five, the handful of senators who met with federal regulators to urge them to ease up on the savings and loan owned by contributor Charles Keating.

Jake Tapper