Maverick = Ethics Violation

Though there is some quibbling about its accuracy, Steven Benen, writing for the Washington Monthly has made the following claim about the historic nature of the McCain/Palin ticket:

"The McCain/Palin ticket is the first in American history in which both candidates were found to have violated ethics standards before a national election.

McCain, of course, was admonished by Senate Ethics Committee "for exercising 'poor judgment' for intervening" with federal regulators on behalf of Charles Keating, as part of the infamous Keating Five scandal.

And now McCain's running mate has also been found to have violated state ethics laws and abused the powers of her office, as part of the "Troopergate" scandal.

The nation has had 102 major-party tickets covering 51 presidential elections over more than two centuries. And we've never had a ticket in which both candidates on the same ticket were responsible for ethics violations before a national election. McCain/Palin is the first.

It makes the whole "reform" pitch a little more difficult, doesn't it? "

Note: In the comment section, one reader pointed out that "both James. A. Garfield and Chet Arthur were under ethics clouds, over the Credit Mobilier and New York Port tariffs, respectively, in 1880."