A stop McCain not making on biotour

Democrats used John McCain's ongoing biographical tour -- which took him today to the US Naval Academy and his flight training school in Florida -- to highlight a less flattering stop he won't make:

The first meeting of the so-called Keating Five, which happened today and led to the biggest scandal of McCain's political career.

McCain and four other senators interceded on behalf of Charles Keating Jr., who was embroiled in the savings and loan crisis. McCain has often said the episode helped spur his zeal for government reform.

A campaign finance reform advocacy group also cited the 21st anniversary of the meeting to renew its call for McCain to back comprehensive public financing of campaigns.

"Senator McCain claims to have learned a lesson during the Keating Five scandal in the late 1980s -- that it is important to significantly reduce the impact of money in politics," David Donnelly, national campaigns director for the Public Campaign Action Fund, said in a statement. "But McCain, whose campaign is run by a who’s who of big money lobbyists, appears to have forgotten that lesson and has so far refused to make a commitment to fight for real change in how campaigns are financed."

As the Globe reported over the weekend, campaign reform advocates say McCain has backed away from his commitment since starting his presidential campaign.