NYT: McCain Cheated at Saddleback

clipped from www.nytimes.com Senator John McCain was not in a “cone of silence” on Saturday night while his rival, Senator Barack Obama, was being interviewed at the Saddleback Church in California. Members of the McCain campaign staff, who flew here Sunday from California, said Mr. McCain was in his motorcade on the way to the church as Mr. Obama was being interviewed by the Rev. Rick Warren, the author of the best-selling book “The Purpose Driven Life.” The matter is of interest because Mr. McCain, who followed Mr. Obama’s hourlong appearance in the forum, was asked virtually the same questions as Mr. Obama. Mr. McCain’s performance was well received, raising speculation among some viewers, especially supporters of Mr. Obama, that he was not as isolated during the Obama interview as Mr. Warren implied.

Team McCain responds:

"The insinuation from the Obama campaign that John McCain, a former prisoner of war, cheated is outrageous," [Nicolle Wallace, a spokeswoman for McCain] said.

And that's pretty much it -- McCain was a POW and that makes it somehow impossible for him to cheat. I'm not sure that's so logical. Still, it's one more example of McCain using his Vietnam experience as a political crutch. It should also be noted that the NYT and the Obama campaign aren't the same thing -- it's also an accusation, not an "insinuation."

Expect a lot more of these non-responses in the future.