Sun Aug 10, 3:36 PM Pacific • posted by Jed Lewison
Not Putting Country First
Let's start with the facts: John McCain's top foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, is a paid lobbyist for a foreign government, the Republic of Georgia. When the Obama campaign criticized this financial relationship the McCain campaign said the critique was "disgraceful," adding that the adviser "proudly represented a small democracy that is one of our closest allies in a very dangerous region."
The McCain campaign misses the issue entirely: it's not about whether or not their position is right or wrong. It's about the fact that a top McCain campaign official has a major financial stake in taking that position.
Conflicts of interest like this undermine John McCain's moral authority. If he truly supports the positions he is taking, he ought to fire advisers like Scheunemann whose recommendations are influenced by the profit motive.
Would firing Scheunemann really be such a hard thing to do?