I don’t like John McCain. I believe him to be dishonest. Friends who have heard me speak about McCain are often surprised at the depth of the disgust that I feel about the Arizona Senator. For me, he — not the system he attacks so ferociously — is the prime example of what’s wrong with Washington.

So today’s Drudge Report bombshell doesn’t really surprise me at all. Neither does McCain’s apparently casual lie that he has “not been in talks with The New York Times.” An assertion later contradicted by The Politico and his own personal lawyer, who is preparing written answers to the NYT’s questions.

The major question, though, is simple: How much will the story damage McCain’s campaign? McCain’s ham-handed response only ensured that the story would attract substantial coverage. And if Drudge’s latest update is to be believed, the NYT story in question may now run on Friday, ensuring that McCain will get to endure the story through the weekend.

For years, the media overlooked McCain’s hypocrisy and dishonesty because they liked his schtick. Over the last couple of years, however, many reporters seemed to turn on their old pal. How will they treat him now?

It would be wishful thinking to suggest that this will cripple McCain’s campaign. But it could open the spigot on a serious of stories that erode McCain’s carefully contrived Mr. Clean image. And to understand the implications of that, you need only review today’s statement from the McCain campaign which tries fruitlessly to emphasize the very characteristics that the allegedly impending NYT article will call in to question.