Lessons learned from LBJ

McCain Denies Romantic Relationship With Lobbyist

During a hotly-contested Congressional race in Texas, LBJ is said to have instructed his campaign manager to circulate the rumor that his opponent had carnal knowledge of his swine. In response the campaign manager exclaimed, "You want me to accuse him of being a pig f-cker?!"

To which LBJ replied, "Make him deny it."

[Note: this is a remembered story, so the details may not be quite right, and the quotations are almost certainly not exact... but the outline & moral are correct... I'm guessing I saw this in Robert Caro's book, The Path to Power (The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 1).]

The McCain story may or may not be true, but the intent of releasing it now - it is, after all, old news even if true - seems purely political: "Make him deny it!"

... and it worked!