It's no secret that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain has had some sharp disagreements with the nation's broadcasters.

Indeed, some argue that the Arizona lawmaker's frequent and contentious policy battles with the National Association of Broadcasters during the mid 1990s and early 2000s account for much of his maverick reputation.

Yet, given the alternative—liberal Democrats Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama—broadcasting's Washington establishment seems ready to forgive and forget and hope that President McCain will be more sympathetic toward TV and radio than Senator McCain has been.

“Senator McCain's basic free-market philosophy will be a lot better for the industry than a heavily regulatory agenda,” says Disney's chief lobbyist Preston Padden, an early McCain backer who has been raising money for McCain.

McCain's differences with broadcasters are “ancient history,” he says.

Another early McCain supporter is Dick Wiley, a former FCC chairman and arguably Washington's most influential communications attorney, at least when Republicans are running things.

“On balance, most broadcasters are going to prefer McCain because he's likely to be less regulatory than the opposition,” says Wiley, who is co-chairman of Lawyers for McCain.

"I found when lobbying him he's very independent and a man of his own views. Some clients might have liked what he said, but others might not,'' says Wiley.

During the bad old days, when McCain and broadcasters were fighting a running battle, Eddie Fritts was president of the NAB and a McCain nemesis.

But even Fritts is now providing reassurances about a McCain presidency.

“Senator McCain has always been interested in broadcasting because it's a link to the people. But I don't anticipate any special legislation or anything particularly adverse,” says Fritts, a McCain campaign contributor.

Fritts now operates his own Washington lobbying firm, the Fritts Group, whose media clients include CBS, News Corp., DirecTV, and the Motion Picture Association of America.

The NAB is looking on the bright side. “Beyond the differences, there is a general understanding on the part of Senator McCain of the unique role local broadcasters play, particularly in times of emergencies and in terms of raising money for charities,” says NAB Executive VP Dennis Wharton.

Tribune Co.'s Shaun Sheehan is also in the McCain camp. McCain recognizes the mediascape is changing, he says.

“I think he's more willing to embrace that something is going on in the communications market out there that's bigger than where [Democratic FCC Commissioner] Michael Copps wants to go,” says Sheehan. “This isn't the robust business it used to be,'' says Sheehan

Sheehan, a former Marine combat veteran, also says he's “pulling for one of his own.”

And there are apparently no hard feelings against McCain back home.

“Just because we disagree on some policy issues doesn't mean he's [McCain] not a good policymaker,” says Art Brooks, president of the Arizona Broadcasters Association.

“He's a man of character and a man of his word,” Brooks adds.

“We've never been denied access. We always have great conversations on all the issues of the day,” he says.

A McCain aide says McCain wasn't picking on broadcasters. "Mostly when he does battle these companies it is on behalf of public safety and consumers,” the aide says. "Overall, he's a champion of a free marketplace and a deregulatory regime.”

The aide points out that McCain has actually been siding with broadcasters of late.

Last year, he introduced a measure that would block the FCC from reinstating the fairness doctrine, and he is co-sponsoring Sen. Mary Landrieu's (D-La.) bill that gives broadcasters first responder status so they can provide better news coverage during disasters.

McCain chaired the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees broadcasting and cable matters, from 1997 until 2001 and again from 2003 until 2005. All the years were marked by conflict between McCain and broadcasters.

Much of the friction flowed from McCain's belief that broadcasters should pay for their digital spectrum.

He called the grant of digital channels to broadcasters “the great American rip-off” and the “great $70 billion taxpayer giveaway.”

"He was very critical of broadcasters and NAB's role in the process. He seemingly held that grudge for some time and continued to crack the whip on them, “says Adam Thierer, a senior fellow at the Progress and Freedom Foundation.

“McCain tried his damnedest to keep broadcasters from getting the additional spectrum for the DTV transition and broadcasters won,” says one broadcast industry source.

Part of the problem was that McCain didn't trust broadcasters. He thought they might never return their analog channels.

In late 2005, he tried to move the deadline for the DTV transition to April 2008. But he failed and Congress finally settled on Feb. 17, 2009.

McCain believes that the broadcasters' foot dragging on returning analog spectrum denied the spectrum to public safety users.

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