McCain-Palin's shameful war on the press
The McCain campaign's unbelievable, unprecedented, unacceptable, un-American attempt to sneak Sarah Palin into the White House without facing any meaningful press scrutiny has finally sparked an open revolt today, with news outlets loudly and universally objecting to being used as a glorified P.R. agency at today's U.N. photo-op. What finally caused the media to discover its backbone? Well, according to Marc Ambinder, "Apparently last week, CBS News's Scott Conroy had the temerity to ask a question of Palin," and as a result, the McCain campaign wants to further limit the whole press pool's already-negligible access, while still taking advantage of the pretty pictures they take. Hell no, the press replied. Even a Fox News producer lashed out at the campaign's KGB-worthy tactics: "There's not one chance that Governor Palin would have to answer a question. ... They're eliminating even the chance of any kind of interaction with the candidate -- it's just unprecedented."
Conservatives will, of course, dismiss this outrage as so much "liberal media bias," and will rationalize the McCain campaign's tack on the basis that the press was mean to poor Sarah by going after her family. Pardon my French, but this is sheer bullshit. It is perfectly obvious that the McCain campaign is using accusations of bias and maltreatment as an excuse to shield this patently unqualified candidate from the harsh glare of legitimate press coverage that would, or so they fear, quickly reveal her to be unfit for office. There is no other explanation for their behavior, their ridiculous demands for "deference," and their unconscionable hide-the-candidate strategy.
The McCain campaign is hoping to ride a wave of conservative cultural hostility toward the MSM, carefully honed over the last several decades, all the way to victory on November 4. That the media itself has, through its various forms of misbehavior, made itself an easy target is obvious but immaterial. The MSM's sins do not justify the GOP's tactics. It would be different if they were denying access to specific journalists who are deemed hostile or unfair, but granting regular, meaningful, open access to other, legitimate journalists. But they aren't giving anyone access, beyond a handful of carefully orchestrated one-on-one interviews that, by design, provide little insight into anything. They are declaring war on the entire concept of the press as a proxy for the public. They are trying to stage-manage not just a convention, not just a campaign event, not just an interview or two, but the entire public persona of, potentially, the next President of the United States. They want to completely insulate her from anything remotely unplanned, unpredictable or spontaneous -- in short, anything that could possibly puncture her carefully crafted image. And they expect us, the public, to accept this.
Fundamentally, this is not about the media -- it is about the public, about the voters, about you and me. It is about whether a person with no record of any meaningful engagement in national or international issues can come to be a heartbeat away from the presidency without ever deigning to face the public in an unscripted, non-stage-managed setting. The overwhelming cynicism of this tactic, and the danger that it poses to the health of our Republic, cannot be overstated. If the McCain campaign succeeds, it will set a precedent that could haunt us for many years to come. The press must revolt. They must loudly demand access. They must write critical stories and editorials every day, denouncing this shameful nonsense. To hell with the accusations of "liberal bias" that such rightful outrage will inevitably inspire. The conservative blogosphere, for all the valid criticisms of the media that it has leveled over the years, has largely rendered itself intellectually irrelevant with its incoherent hypocrisy since Sarah Palin arrived on the scene. Journalists must not allow these right-wing bullies to shame them into obsequious silence. The core premise of American journalism is at risk, and it's time for reporters and voters alike to tell the McCain campaign: enough is enough.
(Hat tip: Becky.)
P.S. Andrew Sullivan: "Fight back, you hacks! Demand access. Demand accountability! ... If we cannot ask questions of a total newbie six weeks before an election in which she could become president of the country, then the First Amendment is pointless." Indeed.
P.P.S. Undoubtedly, someone will point out in comments that Joe Biden has made a bunch of gaffes. This is true. But then again, Biden, y'know, talks to reporters, which gives him lots of opportunities to make gaffes -- opportunities which he has seized all too often recently. Foot-in-mouth disease is in Biden's nature, of course. We always knew that. But give me a gaffe-prone candidate with a long record of experience and knowledge and engagement with regard to the big issues of our time -- over a candidate with no such record, but with a record of constant lying, whose whole candidacy is fundamentally premised on various lies and half-truths, and who's being hidden away from the press in order to prevent her from being embarrassed or exposed -- any day of the damn week. There are things worse than gaffes. There are affronts to democracy more serious than misstating, off the cuff, who was president in 1929. For f***'s sake.
Conservatives will, of course, dismiss this outrage as so much "liberal media bias," and will rationalize the McCain campaign's tack on the basis that the press was mean to poor Sarah by going after her family. Pardon my French, but this is sheer bullshit. It is perfectly obvious that the McCain campaign is using accusations of bias and maltreatment as an excuse to shield this patently unqualified candidate from the harsh glare of legitimate press coverage that would, or so they fear, quickly reveal her to be unfit for office. There is no other explanation for their behavior, their ridiculous demands for "deference," and their unconscionable hide-the-candidate strategy.
The McCain campaign is hoping to ride a wave of conservative cultural hostility toward the MSM, carefully honed over the last several decades, all the way to victory on November 4. That the media itself has, through its various forms of misbehavior, made itself an easy target is obvious but immaterial. The MSM's sins do not justify the GOP's tactics. It would be different if they were denying access to specific journalists who are deemed hostile or unfair, but granting regular, meaningful, open access to other, legitimate journalists. But they aren't giving anyone access, beyond a handful of carefully orchestrated one-on-one interviews that, by design, provide little insight into anything. They are declaring war on the entire concept of the press as a proxy for the public. They are trying to stage-manage not just a convention, not just a campaign event, not just an interview or two, but the entire public persona of, potentially, the next President of the United States. They want to completely insulate her from anything remotely unplanned, unpredictable or spontaneous -- in short, anything that could possibly puncture her carefully crafted image. And they expect us, the public, to accept this.
Fundamentally, this is not about the media -- it is about the public, about the voters, about you and me. It is about whether a person with no record of any meaningful engagement in national or international issues can come to be a heartbeat away from the presidency without ever deigning to face the public in an unscripted, non-stage-managed setting. The overwhelming cynicism of this tactic, and the danger that it poses to the health of our Republic, cannot be overstated. If the McCain campaign succeeds, it will set a precedent that could haunt us for many years to come. The press must revolt. They must loudly demand access. They must write critical stories and editorials every day, denouncing this shameful nonsense. To hell with the accusations of "liberal bias" that such rightful outrage will inevitably inspire. The conservative blogosphere, for all the valid criticisms of the media that it has leveled over the years, has largely rendered itself intellectually irrelevant with its incoherent hypocrisy since Sarah Palin arrived on the scene. Journalists must not allow these right-wing bullies to shame them into obsequious silence. The core premise of American journalism is at risk, and it's time for reporters and voters alike to tell the McCain campaign: enough is enough.
(Hat tip: Becky.)
P.S. Andrew Sullivan: "Fight back, you hacks! Demand access. Demand accountability! ... If we cannot ask questions of a total newbie six weeks before an election in which she could become president of the country, then the First Amendment is pointless." Indeed.
P.P.S. Undoubtedly, someone will point out in comments that Joe Biden has made a bunch of gaffes. This is true. But then again, Biden, y'know, talks to reporters, which gives him lots of opportunities to make gaffes -- opportunities which he has seized all too often recently. Foot-in-mouth disease is in Biden's nature, of course. We always knew that. But give me a gaffe-prone candidate with a long record of experience and knowledge and engagement with regard to the big issues of our time -- over a candidate with no such record, but with a record of constant lying, whose whole candidacy is fundamentally premised on various lies and half-truths, and who's being hidden away from the press in order to prevent her from being embarrassed or exposed -- any day of the damn week. There are things worse than gaffes. There are affronts to democracy more serious than misstating, off the cuff, who was president in 1929. For f***'s sake.
posted by Brendan Loy at
9/23/2008 07:24:00 PM
