Straight Talker spoke with forked tongue?

As I suggested from the outset, don't judge what will come out of the much-derided New York Times McCain/lobbyist bombshell the first day. "Tip of the Iseman," I wrote. Now it's been a horrible second day for the senator, topped by this put up by The Washington Post tonight: "Broadcaster Lowell 'Bud' Paxson today contradicted statements from Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign that the senator did not meet with Paxson or his lobbyist before sending two controversial letters to the Federal Communications Commission on Paxson's behalf.

"Paxson said he talked with McCain in his Washington office several weeks before the Arizona Republican wrote the letters to the FCC urging a rapid decision on Paxson's quest to acquire a Pittsburgh television station. Paxson also recalled that his lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, attended the meeting in McCain's office and that Iseman helped arrange the meeting. 'Was Vicki there? Probably,' Paxson said in an interview with The Washington Post today. 'The woman was a professional. She was good. She could get us meetings.'

"The recollection of the now-retired Paxson conflicted with the account provided by McCain about two letters at the center of a controversy about the senator's ties to Iseman, a partner at the lobbying firm of Alcalde & Fay."

Now this is priceless: "McCain attorney Robert Bennett played down the contradiction between the campaign's written answer and Paxson's recollection. 'We understood that he [McCain] did not speak directly with him [Paxson]. Now it appears he did speak to him. What is the difference?' Bennett said."