Media Must Not Cover Palin Until She Holds a Press Conference

I know I'm supposed to talk about the debate today, but I could not help but notice that the McCain campaign is still embarrassed by Sarah Palin. That's why she's campaigning in Texas, not a contested state, and California, a huge loser for the Republicans. Do you see Sarah Palin in a battleground area, say, Ohio or Pennsylvania?

Of course not, because the McCain campaign still lives in fear of Palin saying the wrong thing in a place where it may matter. So Palin continues to regurgitate what's handed to her by the campaign, and the fanatics she attracts eat it up; they eat it up and they are still hungry for more. For the zealots, it's not enough to say Obama pals around with a terrorist. They shout that Obama is a terrorist! There's no place to go that's too far when you're talking to the fringes of society. Obama's a lesbian! is right around the corner.

But Palin gets media coverage, and this baffles me. Why cover Palin if the media cannot speak to her? Why cover her if, as is now the case, the media are not allowed to talk to her supporters?

This is ridiculous. It's out of hand. And the media that continue to cover Palin's repetition of talking points are the enablers of a McCain-Palin regime that embraces the tactics used in China.

No talking to the VP candidate. No asking her views. We'll let you in the press know what you can say about Palin.

Jeez, I did a three minute segment on Fox News last week that was more of a back and forth than Palin has done since she became the nominee!

Andrew Sullivan was the first to talk about Palin's failure to hold a press conference, but I thought the McCain campaign would allow Palin to do a press conference at some point. They have not.

The press needs to stand up, not just for itself, not just for the right of a free press, but for the people. This isn't about the McCain campaigns' need to hide Palin. This is about the possibility of a future president who refuses to hold a press conference.

This is about a possible future President who hides in plain sight.

This is about democracy and our right to know and to hear from a candidate, unfiltered.

The press needs to grow up, and say, "We're not going to take it anymore." You know what, some conservatives may get pissed. Too bad. Stand up for what's right.

Follow the lead of Campbell Brown on CNN - there's a person who, regardless of her views (she's married to Dan Senor, who was Coalition spokesperson in Iraq), is outraged by the McCain camp's treatment of Palin. Why is she the only non-partisan media person speaking out?

No more Palin until Palin stands in front of a podium and gives a press conference.

Comments

[Rescisco]

The press has rules of "objectivity" that prevent it from refusing to cover her or make a big deal of her reluctance to have a press conference but requires it to report the garbage she utters. Some deal that, The "fourth estate" has ceased to exisit as such.

[Maury66]

I want to add my voice and say I agree one hundred percent.....deny the Alaska Governor coverage until she agrees to answer questions from the press....get some backbone...insist on it and follow through.

[ExpatDane]

International news media are covering the major issues like health care and veterans affairs, education and homeland security, while Amerixan media are covering campaign character assassinations. No wonder people in Europe are more informed about the problems facing America than Americans and no wonder Obama is the hands down favorite in the rest of the world.

The American media is a joke. The only reporters worth their salt are the sports journalists.

[kabukiguy]

It's about time someone said this publicly. That a VP candidate can hide from the press when it doesn't suit her purpose but exploit it when it does is bad enough, but to do it as egregiously as Sarah Palin is downright criminal. She must be held to account, and her daily diatribes to her fanatics should be ignored or given only minimal attention until she plays the game fairly. It's absolutely frightening to imagine that she could become VP, and possibly president, with the public never learning more than we know thus far of her ideas directly from her and not from her spin doctors. This entire scenario points out like nothing before in American history the inherent weakness of a system whereby a VP is selected not as the result of a campaign for that office but because of the political machinations of a presidential candidate whose choices are based on what he thinks will best serve his own campaign. If anything needed to be fixed by a constitutional amendment, it would be the way in which VP candidates are chosen. Why aren't any journalists addressing this issue?

[ARTIST50]

Thank you! I've been posting this all week, I don't understand why she has a forum when no one can question her. It absolutely not fair.

[Peter Clothier - Huffpost Blogger]

Absolutely! I have been wondering about this myself. Why in the devil's name does the press pay court to her so assiduously when she does nothing but spurn them. Someone should have the guts to say, No mas! No interview, no coverage.

[arthur2008]

Thank you. I have been beating this drum for weeks -- the role of journalists is to report news, not enable photo ops.

If she has nothing of substance to say -- makes no news, that is -- there is no need for the reporters following her to file a story. Merely manufacturing news to fill a news hole is a betrayal, of their profession and of their audience.

.

[Aleka4]

Particularly when all they have to post is her lies and inciting of right wing zealots and fanatics. They are just enabling the smear campaign.

[DavidK08]

Very true! She is using the "elite MSM" and hating at the same time. Enough is enough. How is it that she gets all of this free press that goes un-vetted face to face. It is easy to say something when there is no chance of some one saying something to your face about it.

[LOSinCA]

The press is supposed to be the “4th Estate” with a duty to investigate and report. The media has already fallen down on the job in terms of covering Iraq—it’s time to step up. The press needs to take a stand now on the firewall built around public access to Palin—don’t cover her until she’s willing to respond to unscripted interview questions. Do people think she would be more responsive or accountable if she’s in the White House—perhaps following the example of Cheney and Bush?

[Petey131]

"No more Palin until Palin stands in front of a podium and gives a press conference."


What can we do Mr. Littman? Please tell us what can we do to make this happen

[glitz]

The press is now giving her all this stump time hoping to get an interview. Since when does any candidate have the right to ignore questions? She is just tromping around with her cue cards giving the same lines over and over. Does this lack of co-operation with the Press, from the entire McCain camp, reflect a future of censure and silence from the White House? The American public should be irate that we have no opportunity to get real answers from this candidate. During her one chance to answer real questions, she took the opportunity to state that she wouldn't reply during the debate. Her only two interviews, where they were extremely generous...she called annoying! It is truly frustrating that the majority of the Press just seems to be fallin in line. Didn't they learn any lessons from their participation in the build-up to Iraq? We need the truth, not canned speeches.

[HowIronic]

You will never get the media to stop following Sarah around because she equals money.

[middleclassmom]

Thank you! The unavailability of Palin for normal interviews and media access is an outrage. I would love to see a full press boycott.

[PuppaX]

And this is the VP pick of the candidate who claims to want to open up his presidency to "question time"-style inquiry.

[TroubleNYC]

"No more Palin until Palin stands in front of a podium and gives a press conference. "

Applause