Toledo, Ohio (AP) John McCain's campaign says he's the victim of a “smear campaign.”

That’s the response to published reports questioning his relationship with a female lobbyist.

A new york times report suggests there was an inappropriate relationship between McCain and Washington lobbyist Vickie Iseman. The times quotes anonymous aides saying they had confronted McCain and Iseman urging them to stay away from each other. That was before his failed presidential campaign in 2000.

And the Washington post quotes a longtime former McCain aide, John Weaver, who says he met with Iseman and urged her to stay away from McCain.

The reports do not claim the relationship was romantic but say aides were concerned about the appearance that McCain was too close to a lobbyist who had business before his committee.

In a statement issued by McCain’s presidential campaign, a Mccain spokeswoman calls the times report ``a hit-and-run smear campaign.'' the statement also says ``Americans are sick and tired
of this kind of gutter politics.''
Aides say McCain plans to address the allegations at a news conference this morning.