McCain Denies Roughing Up A Sandinista

GOP Colleague Thad Cochran Says He Saw Ariz. Senator Grab Nicaraguan Man During 1987 Diplomatic Mission

(AP)  John McCain denied a Republican colleague's claim that he roughed up an associate of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on a diplomatic mission in 1987, saying the allegation was "simply not true."

Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., told a Mississippi newspaper that he saw McCain, during a trip to Nicaragua led by former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., grab an Ortega associate by his shirt collar and lift him out of his chair.

The Republican presidential contender, who is known for his hot temper, was questioned about the alleged incident at a news conference Wednesday here. He noted that at the time, he had been asked to co-chair a Central American working group in the Senate with Democrat Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and had made several trips to the region in that role.

"I had many, many meetings with the Sandinistas," McCain said. "I must say, I did not admire the Sandinistas much. But there was never anything of that nature. It just didn't happen."

His comments did not square with Cochran's detailed recollection of the alleged incident.

"McCain was down at the end of the table and we were talking to the head of the guerrilla group here at this end of the table and I don't know what attracted my attention," Cochran said in an interview with The Sun Herald in Biloxi, Miss. "But I saw some kind of quick movement at the bottom of the table and I looked down there and John had reached over and grabbed this guy by the shirt collar and had snatched him up like he was throwing him up out of the chair to tell him what he thought about him or whatever ...

"I don't know what he was telling him but I thought, 'Good grief, everybody around here has got guns and we were there on a diplomatic mission.' I don't know what had happened to provoke John, but he obviously got mad at the guy ... and he just reached over there and snatched ... him."

Asked why Cochran raised the incident now, his spokeswoman, Margaret McPhillips, told The Associated Press on Wednesday: "I think Sen. Cochran went in to as much detail Monday as is necessary to make the point that, though Sen. McCain has had problems with his temper, he has overcome them."

"Decades have passed since then and he wanted to make the point that over the years he has seen Sen. McCain mature into an individual who is not only spirited and tenacious but also thoughtful and levelheaded," McPhillips added. "He believes Sen. McCain has developed into the best possible candidate for president."

Cochran, who has complained about McCain's temper before, said only a handful of senators took part in the trip, including former Sen. Steve Symms of Idaho. He said he didn't know who the man McCain grabbed was except that he was an associate of Ortega.

The newspaper posted the audio of its interview on its Web site.

Lorne Craner, 49, a former foreign policy aide to McCain who took part in the trip to Nicaragua, told The Associated Press that he doesn't recall the incident Cochran described.

"Honestly, if my boss had grabbed a foreign government official like that and lifted him up I would certainly remember that," said Craner, who is president of the International Republican Institute, which McCain chairs.

Craner said he also doesn't recall whether the senators met with Ortega during the trip but believes they met with the Sandinista government's foreign minister or interior minister. He said the trip was one of several to Nicaragua made by McCain and other members of Congress around that time.

McCain has battled for years with Cochran, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, over pet projects or "earmarks" inserted by committee members into spending bills.

McCain sought to smooth things over with Cochran this year after the Mississippi senator said the idea of McCain as the GOP presidential nominee sent a chill down his spine.

Ortega, who once allied himself with Fidel Castro and the Soviet Union, headed the leftist Sandinista government and battled U.S.-backed Contra forces in the 1980s. He won re-election as Nicaragua's president in 2006.

[firststate]

After numerous times watching John McBush categorically deny saying something and then going to the videotape of him saying it, I''ve come to the conclusion that either he can''t remember what he''s said and done or he''s just a big liar. Neither quality is especially endearing, but the memory thing is tricky for the guy with the button.

[starleo146]

Listen this is one persons story against a temper tantrum senator who denies it . Well if you didn''t do it sue him ,I bet you won''t because it is true

[samsel3]

I understand that McCain can''t stand the sound of Rattling Keyes. It''s supposed to set him off....

Ever notice how even tempered he is now as compared to before his run for office.

Maybe he''s taking Prozac. It sure looks like they have him medicated.

[firststate]

McCain''s a hero. When he refused release as a POW until others were freed he did show character. Of course he was near the bottom at Annapolis and a below average pilot. We know that with him we''d get whatever his neocon masters want, including the voting record agreeing with bush 100% of the time this year.

In the Senate, he once stood up for his beliefs but then bush pounded him senseless in the 2000 race. He gotten so good at Flip-Flopping that he managed to reverse his position during the commercial break on a half hour interview. He introduces and co-sponsors bills then votes against them. His current firm convictions are whatever the current wishes of the extreme right are. The bush bunch broke the maverick and the neocons have the reins.

Like bush, he has diverted attention away from bin Laden, al Qaeda and fighting terrorists in Afghanistan because they are so handy for scaring up votes. Besides the "O" in G O P is for oil and the oil''s in Iraq and Iran, not Afghanistan.

[standlee5]

mudslingers. McCain''s a hero, end of story.

[acolton1]

WHATEVER

John McCain with the stories that have been printed about your TEMPER and ANGER issues.

I dont believe you one bit.

[mr2258]

You know what you are getting with Obama.A coward that will not take a stand. PRESENT

[dnsallday]

I guess McCain has now passed the true Conservative test. If he does something he doesn''t want people to know about, he just lies and denies it.
I think this is denial number 7, and most of the issues are well documented on video.

[actornaught]

explain to me why conservatives hate liberals so much....
Posted by noprejudice at 12:15 PM : Jul 03, 2008

It''s not conservatives, they''re few and far between. You''re feeling the radio-hate campaign from neocons, telling their little soldiers what they want to hear, giving them a designated target to blame for their problems.

Liberals are, and always have been, the backbone of freedom, and many other constructive forces in this country.

[noprejudice]

explain to me why conservatives hate liberals so much. why? we are all americans, and how freaking lucky are we to have this choice??? did partisanship matter post-9/11? no. we came together, we stood as one. this blog postings show some nasty folks out there, without knowing someone personally, they rip them to shreds because they are liberal. personally, i find platform ideals on both sides. and I prefer not to be labelled, as those less intelligent grab on to any label (clearly) and use it to throw insults. my mom is a christian conservative, and the rhetoric she uses is hurtful and disrespectful. she knows I disagree with her, I do not throw insults her way, but she doesn''t hesitate to toss them at me. we''ve had to tell her that political discourse with us is off limits. so take this advice, go elsewhere if you can''t have an adult dialogue! this is not rocket science! good conversation and good communication is clearly underrated here. but do tell, why the nasty angry insults from the conservatives? they far outweigh the liberal anger, and it clouds anything intelligent here.