John McCain Used Wife's Jet on the Cheap

Photo from source, via Raw Story

I've read and heard a lot about Hillary Clinton's tactics being a harbinger of how she would act as President. They say that if she's been underhanded or is playing dirty to win the election, she'll employ the same tactics in the Oval Office. OK, that argument just might have merit.

But what of John McCain? The former "Maverick" and "straight talker" (both terms still being used, while they no longer really apply) used to be for campaign finance reform. "McCain/Feingold" anybody? And yet, he's broken campaign finance laws anyway. Now, it's come out that he's exploited a loophole--one that was supposed to be closed, but hasn't been because the FEC is understaffed--in order to get cheap flights on his wife's jet airplane.

That's not illegal. But it is kind of sneaky. So we have a guy who is willing to flout his own laws, and weave and bob between other ones in order to get to be President. How is that any better than what Hillary Clinton is accused of? As far as I know, she's at least not accused of these types of behavior.

[Excerpt]

McCain Frequently Used Wife’s Jet for Little Cost

. . .Mr. McCain’s campaign paid a total of $241,149 for the use of that plane from last August through February, records show. That amount is approximately the cost of chartering a similar jet for a month or two, according to industry estimates.

The senator was able to fly so inexpensively because the law specifically exempts aircraft owned by a candidate or his family or by a privately held company they control. The Federal Election Commission adopted rules in December to close the loophole — rules that would have required substantial payments by candidates using family-owned planes — but the agency soon lost the requisite number of commissioners needed to complete the rule making. . .

Read more at: New York Times