« The CIA’s guide to [Redacted] | Main | Trying to upgrade the thing with the thing »
But I thought Fudge Haus was a place of joy?
By Ned | July 26, 2008
If the press really is McCain’s base, then for a poltician, he’s remarkably cavalier about getting snippy with his base. Video below the fold:
Yikes! I was kind of curious what could have earned a snub like that, so I did a Google and found this:
John McCain used to jokingly call the media “my base.” Now, he and his aides are becoming increasingly frustrated with what they see as a growing press infatuation with his rival, Barack Obama.
That agitation has grown more intense this week, with the attention paid to Sen. Obama’s weeklong trip to Europe and the Middle East. Sen. McCain made a similar trip in March but didn’t have traveling press — and received very little attention. The Republican candidate’s trip to Colombia in early July included the media but attracted scant outside interest.
Sounds like Holmes is verifying McCain’s point, doesn’t it? Well, sort of. Because she then had the audacity to quote people who disagree with McCain.
“It used to be the stories were ‘everyone was in love with McCain — he’s on his bus, he schmoozes the reporters, they all give him a break,’” said Paul Friedman, senior vice president for news coverage at CBS. “That’s the irony. These guys are now crying foul, and they’ve had the advantage of terrific relationships with the press.”
The networks also defended the decision to send their most prominent news personalities on the road with Sen. Obama, saying his tour is a major event and an opportunity to report on news across the Middle East. Executives at the networks say they have sought to balance the Obama coverage with comparable coverage of Sen. McCain.
“Sen. Obama’s trip is historic in its scope and its timing,” said Jon Banner, the executive producer of “World News with Charles Gibson” on ABC. “Visiting this many capitals and two war zones this late in the campaign — it’s something that’s never happened before.”
That’s what pissed McCain off so much? Sheesh.
Let this be a warning to other journalists on the Straighttalk Express: gushing puff pieces get you invited to a barbecue, but even attempting to portray the other side of an issue gets you marked like a leper in front of the rest of the press corps.
Topics: Elections, The Media |