Anyone still doubting that poor John McCain is running as the new Bush — more war, more tax breaks for the wealthy, etc. — need only look to the Arizonian’s playing fast and loose with the truth to see how seamlessly he shadows the Cheney-Bush mode.

McCain was accused of being too close with lobbyists and their clients. He denied it. He denied he met with a man who had hired a particular pal of McCain’s to represent him. He denied it, strongly and forthrightly. Never met with the guy.

Well, the guy says  now, yes we did meet. So what is the McCain camp’s response?

“We understood that he [McCain] did not speak directly with him [Lowell Paxson]. Now it appears he did speak to him. What is the difference?”

Right. What’s the difference? Did not meet. Did meet. Exactly the same thing. Black is white. Up is down. Left is right. What’s the difference? 

The lawyer-spokeman goes on. “McCain has never denied that Paxson asked for assistance from his office. It doesn’t seem relevant whether the request got to him through Paxson or the staff.”

Not relevant? What’s relevant is that McCain said it did not happen that the guy asked him personally to intervene with a government agency when it did happen exactly that he did ask for that. Straight talk?

On Thursday, McCain’s gang said he had not met with Paxson or lobbyist Vicki Iseman on the matter. “No representative of Paxson or Alcalde and Fay personally asked Senator McCain to send a letter to the FCC regarding this proceeding,” the campaign said in a statement quoted in The Washington Post.

But Paxson said yesterday, “I remember going there to meet with him.” He recalled that he told McCain: “You’re head of the Commerce Committee. The FCC is not doing its job. I would love for you to write a letter.”

Snow is sunshine. The moon is Mars. What’s the difference? How is the truth relevant?

Oh, yes. We need four more years of this.