Times defends rejecting op-ed

WASHINGTON - The New York Times yesterday defended its decision not to publish an op-ed article as submitted by Republican John McCain about the Iraq war on grounds it customarily reviews such pieces with the author.

In the piece, sent by his campaign Friday, McCain describes how the buildup of US forces in Iraq has helped curb violence and chides Democratic rival Barack Obama for outlining his plan for Iraq before his current meetings with commanders and Iraqi leaders.

In an e-mail to the campaign Friday, David Shipley, an op-ed editor at the newspaper, said he could not accept the piece in its current form, but would look at another version. On July 14, the Times published a similar op-ed by Obama, in which he said he would send at least two more combat brigades to Afghanistan as part of his plan to pull troops out of Iraq and focus on the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

In a statement yesterday, the Times left the door open to publishing McCain's piece. "It is standard procedure on our op-ed page, and that of other newspapers, to go back and forth with an author on his or her submission. We look forward to publishing Senator McCain's views in our paper just as we have in the past."

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said the campaign will not submit a revised op-ed.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Republicans are counting on a glitch-free convention to help lift the party's sagging morale and boost John McCain's presidential prospects when they assemble in this picturesque city on the Mississippi River in six weeks.

Organizers began construction yesterday at the Xcel Energy Center, home to the Minnesota Wild NHL franchise, to host 4,600 delegates and alternates, as well as thousands more guests and media Sept. 1-4. Workers began unscrewing seats and unloading equipment from trucks, making room for the stage where McCain will deliver his acceptance speech.

The GOP sessions begin four days after Democrats conclude their own convention in Denver; never before have the two parties' events been scheduled so late in the summer, and so close together.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Conservative Christian leader James Dobson said in a radio broadcast yesterday that he could reverse his position and endorse John McCain despite serious misgivings.

Dobson said that while neither presidential candidate is consistent with his views, McCain's positions are closer by a wide margin.

"There's nothing dishonorable in a person rethinking his or her positions, especially in a constantly changing political context," Dobson said in a statement. Barack Obama's "radical positions on life, marriage, and national security force me to reevaluate the candidacy of our only other choice, John McCain."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON - A top foreign policy adviser to John McCain has lobbied the National Security Council, Congress, and the State Department on behalf of Stephen Payne, the Texas businessman and longtime GOP fund-raiser caught up in a controversy over whether he sought to sell access to the Bush White House.

According to records on file with Congress, McCain foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann lobbied the Senate and House on behalf of Payne's firm, Worldwide Strategic Partners Inc., in 2002. Scheunemann also lobbied the National Security Council and the State Department regarding energy issues in the Caspian region in 2005 and 2006 on behalf of another Payne firm, Caspian Alliance Inc., according to the records. The fees to Scheunemann's firm amounted to $50,000.

Yesterday, the McCain campaign said that from 2002 to 2006, Scheunemann periodically engaged in consulting relationships with the two companies and that Scheunemann was never on the payroll of either firm, but that he was an occasional outside expert consultant.

On July 13, the Sunday Times of London published an article and released a videotape in which Payne suggested to a politician from Kazakhstan that Payne could help arrange meetings with top Bush administration officials.

Payne says he did nothing wrong.

ASSOCIATED PRESS