Ahhhh, the sweet smell of a possible SCANDAL!!  John McCain linked - maybe, wink, wink - to a female lobbyist, who gets her photo plastered on the New York Times! This is what's confronting political journalists as we all try to figure out whether the NY Times story is accurate, as McCain sternly denied any wrongdoing today at a morning news conference.

What is ironic here is that the New York Times story has rallied conservatives to the side of John McCain in a way that Sen. McCain has been unable to do during the GOP primaries.

The cable networks and talk radio have been filled with outrage this morning, as there is almost no more juicy target than the New York Times.  Just about all of the commentary is one-sided, since the New York Times hasn't sent anyone out to defend the story.

So the question is pretty simple at this point, does the New York Times have more to back up this story other than anonymous sources?

The Times evidently has been sitting on this story since December - why it popped out now is unclear.   I would urge you to read the story yourself on the NY Times web site.  You can decide on your own about the evidence presented in the story.