Wow, I’m amazed that this isn’t getting more press. Both the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates are too afraid to take questions from reporters, so they use bluster to try to avoid it.
First, John McCain says that he will give no more interviews to CNN for (an undetermined amount of time) because Campbell Brown asks him simply for “one example of a time when Sara Palin made a command decision for the Alaska Guard.” His reasoning? This is derogatory and harassing to both him and her. Neither of them should be subjected to such insulting lines of questioning.
He’s got to be kidding. In the incredibly accurate words of Geoffrey Toobin:
“This is the man that wants a job negotiating with Putin, but Campbell Brown is too mean for him?”
Nope, it has nothing to do with mean, it’s that they don’t have the answers (or at least any answers that we’d like to hear) and need to bluster to avoid and escape. Also, John McCain came dangerously close to exposing his legendary temper and needed a way out before there was some actual video on his true nature.
Act 2: Palin and the Press Avoidance Plan. Given that Sara Palin is being looked at for the second most important job in the free world, it is valid that she be questioned as toughly as all the other candidates have – but at an even faster pace, because we need to know a LOT about her in a really short amount of time. This, of course is not good for the Republicans, because if they can get her in office before the county finds out what she really stands for and believes in, they will have pulled off one of the biggest bait-and-switch scams of all time.
ABC News reports that Palin will not do any interviews until she is treated with respect and deference. I’m not kidding, here’s the link: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/palin-media-a-2.html.
Rick Davis, campaign manager for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., just told Fox News Channel’s Chris Wallace that,
Davis assailed the way the media had discussed Palin and her family in the last week and said the campaign would wait until a less hostile media environment.
This is about as perfect an example as possible of how they are trying to obfuscate the real issue (her utter and profound right wing evangelical positions) with bluster that they hope will play out – or at least long enough for them to pull off the above-mentioned bait and switch.
WE MUST NOT LET THIS HAPPEN.
We must DEMAND that she be put through the wringer to see how she handles the awesome responsibility, pressure and stress of that position. We’ve watched Obama deal with all kinds of nasty issues and I think we have a pretty good idea of how he deals with stress. Frankly, to his credit, we’ve also seen how John McCain behaved when, last summer, he was out of money, had no supporters and had been kicked to the side of the political road. We must not be lulled into allowing her to escape the scrutiny of her potential employers. Unlike the McCain camp whom chose to lie about their vetting process and select her without really looking deeply at all, We The People must vet her thoroughly or be doomed to reap what we have sown with our lazy disinterest.
This of course is all lost on those who are voting for her, not McCain. They will say that she should be treated fairly and that she is right to wait until the media plays nice.
No one but folks like us will realize that regardless of taking questions now or waiting until everyone is going to be nice to her, it answers the fundamental question about her.
Q: How will Palin handle stress of unpleasant situations?
A: She will hide until it blows over.
For a potential president, and certainly Vice President, running from the hard stuff is in no way acceptable.
But again, it’s an argument of wisdom and common sense, which is lost on people. Most folks just want to see what someone does, not what they don’t do. Inaction can tell a greater story, and do greater harm, than action at times.
Of course you’re right about “wait until treated fairly” and such… and it has nothing to do with “fair,” it’s all bluster because the McCain team has nothing but trouble on their hands with her.
Yikes you’re sounding as jaded, cynical and forlorn as me my friend, sounds like we could both use another beer.
On a positive note, it would seem that Michael Moore is uber confident that it’s going to swing our way because of the youth vote that has been pushed for the last 2 contests – and that they are not polled. It is his opinion that there is a *lot* more support that we see polled and it’s a done deal.
Hrmph. I’ve heard that before. I’ll believe it after he’s elected, inaugurated and under the full protection of the Secret Service. And even then I’ll still probably have nightmares of Jack and Bobby
I agree, we need more access to Palin, but McCain has already given more than enough access, and Obama enough access to the press, but not the people. I thought that the youtube debates were great, as people got to ask the questions (even though the media chose them), and also did not like that the candidates knew what was being asked. We need more unscripted debates, especially with Obama.
And Brown did not ask McCain, it was MCCain’s aid that she asked that got caught in a lie
I have a feeling, that the youth vote will be a non issue, as a higher percentage of “youth evangelicals” will come out to the polls when there Shepard’s come calling, the “”anti” republican leaning” organization’s like rockthevote etc. will herd more people into their circle, but a far lower percentage of these people will vote, and even a far fewer number ultimately vote in the undecided states. Unless of course these organizations that are supposed to be unbiased (but are naturally democratic leaning) are specifically targeting states that are up for grabs.
I agree, we need more access to Palin, but McCain has already given more than enough access, and Obama enough access to the press, but not the people. I thought that the youtube debates were great, as people got to ask the questions (even though the media chose them), and also did not like that the candidates knew what was being asked. We need more unscripted debates, especially with Obama.
McCain has been very good, somewhat consistently, about access. It’s only been of late, as his positions and posture (particularly related to Palin) have become more troublesome and the questions less friendly that he secluded himself. Palin needs a public, full body cavity search.
I’m curious what you mean, “more access to the public” because he’s very responsive to questions and answers at his speeches and rallies. I’m not sure I understand your critique.
I have a feeling, that the youth vote will be a non issue
I certainly hope you’re wrong, since this election pertains to them more than any in recent memory – given the deficit, the potential for a draft and their future rights. I’d like to hope that my daughter is more of an example of our future than Beevis and Butthead.
@unitedcrown Says: “We need more unscripted debates, especially with Obama.”
–I agree. I do not like the format usually taken at presidential debates. We need to let these guys DEBATE! Let them sit at a table and hash it out. Let them talk over one another and go at it.
You guys ever notice how the moderators never really give enough time to really get into the meat of the questions?
These dabates are so meaningless. Both candidates will simply stand back to back and repeat the same old stuff that they have been saying all along. It’s just that instead of being miles apart they will be on the same stage.
Let’s have a REAL debate! Ever watch the ‘Prime Ministers Questions?’ now the brits know how to DEBATE!
On the notion of unscripted debate I am all for it. I would, however, love to have a fact-check mechanism available to all viewers so that distortions spewed get immediately brought to light. If a moderator was there SPECIFICALLY to call “bullshit” on a lie/distortion/exaggeration etc I’d be enormously pleased. Note that I mean for EVEYRONE in the debate – this is not a partisan point.
@unscripted debate… roflmao: roflmao: roflmao: roflmao: roflmao: roflmao:
right… thats gonna happen. It should, but i dont think it ever will, ever again.
@palin hiding from the mean people.
When she said yes to being the VP candidate, she said yes to every single american to give her a gyno exam, whether she wants it or not? I am tired of the “it’s my personal life” argument. FU. You are trying to take a role in which you will be able to dictate whether or not I can do things or not. I want to know what color your poop is before you take that role. And if you can’t handle a question of ‘how you can represent yourself as a preacher of abstinence when your own under age daughter is preggo and not married’, how the hell are you going to handle any of the questions in office, which are going to be really really hard sometimes. Like, do you like broccoli?
i just noticed something btw. Every time I see the name Palin, i keep wanting to say Paladin. Ironical, ain’t it. Holy warrior and all.
@ Full Gyno – I’d offer a Sigmoidoscopy as well. Spot on Nuts – you want that job, we get to know all. Let’s see: it’s OK for President Clinton to get called to the carpet for getting a blowjob, but we don’t get to know these facts about Palin? No way.
@ Paladin: Nice, but frightening touch.
@Perk “More access to the public”
Well Obama’s speeches and rallies seem to be tightly controlled, and he has had about an 1/8th of question & answer time with his constituents compared with McCain (Who has gone overboard in QA time)
@Perk & non issue
I meant from a political strategy perspective. I believe each candidate will be able to bring out the youth in somewhat equally strong strides in up for grabs states(Which are the only ones that matter)(political perspective) A whole other issue is the fact that there is almost little point to vote for McCain in CA as we will almost always swing democrat unless the candidate is truly dumb which Obama is not. (I hate partisan Politics!)
@BrainDonkey There has been unscripted debates in the last 8 years, I see no problem with having one, I’m sure McCain would agree. Not so sure about Obama. Obama’s people seem reluctant to put him up against McCain in a debate. (What does that tell us?)
Whenever I talk about this election, I seem to lean to the right despite myself thinking I am a moderate.
@UC, “Tightly Controlled” – Agreed that his campaign may be one of the most disciplined we’ve seen in recent memory, but I think that he’s been reasonably forthcoming. I look forward to more as we get into the debates.
@ UC re. “Putting him up against McCain” – I’m really lost where you get that, except if you count McCain’s offer for Obama to join McCain on the campaign trail for a series of town hall meetings, which would have been political suicide to concede to coming along for the ride on McCain’s train. Obama has been reluctant to get into debates where there is clearly an unbalanced starting point – in fact I applauded him for going to Irvine California for that mockery of an “objective religious discussion” because he was clearly stepping into a lion’s den.
To be honest I would prefer for McCain to debate Obama in a non conservative setting. But I was also under the notion that the McCain campaign had routinely offered to debate Obama (I assumed on semi neutral ground, and it just wasn’t a ploy) I could be wrong though. Either way I think the American people deserve a head to head, and look forward to the 3 “supposedly” scheduled debates.
The McCain camp offered for Obama to join him, essentially on McCain’s terms however. Obama’s stock answer was that it’d be more appropriate for them to debate after both of them are *actually* the nominees… in McCain’s case it was obvious. But in Obama’s case, pre-convention, I think that would’ve been a gigantic slap to Hillary and he couldn’t afford that either.
But all that said, I don’t think there’s been an official request (except for the real official debates coming up) for McCain to debate Obama because he really doesn’t want to. He likes town hall style meetings, not debates. So I’d doubt that he was all over going podium to podium with Obama any earlier than he has to.