KEY POINTS:
United States Republican presidential candidate John McCain has enjoyed a bounce in support from hardline conservatives after the New York Times insinuated an improper relationship between him and a female lobbyist eight years ago.
The Times' ombudsman has strongly criticised the newspaper.
"The newspaper found itself in the uncomfortable position of being the story as much as publishing the story, in large part because ... it offered readers no proof that McCain and (Vicki) Iseman had a romance," public editor Clark Hoyte wrote in his column published yesterday.
