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Friday, October 31, 2008

Noteworthy

Last week, the Obama campaign decided to bar certain television stations from interviewing either Obama, Biden, or their wives after those stations asked rather tough questions in interviews (of Biden, in particular).

This week, it is interesting to note that the campaign has barred a number of newspapers from covering the campaign - though they had been doing so from the start - after those newspapers' editorial pages endorsed John McCain for President:

Journalists from three major newspapers -- each having endorsed John McCain -- reportedly have been booted from the Barack Obama campaign plane for the final leg of the presidential campaign.

The Washington Times reported Friday that they were notified of the Obama campaign's decision Thursday evening -- even though the paper has covered Obama from the start.

"I hope the candidate that promises to unite America isn't using a litmus test to determine who gets to cover his campaign," Washington Times Executive Editor John Solomon said in the article

The New York Post and Dallas Morning News also have been kicked off Obama's plane, according to the Web site The Drudge Report.

It will be interesting to see what kind of effect this has - knowing that only media outlets who support Obama are allowed close coverage of the campaign. Should he win the Presidency, it would be an incredible blow to the American populus to not have any serious or critical coverage of the White House and the decision-making process of the President. (Note that FOXNews is still on board, but they are not print media.)

10 comments:

  1. And the Fascist takeover begins...

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  2. Access shouldn't be denied because of a lack of support.

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  3. Someone ought to point out to the campaign that the First Amendment reads "freedom of the press shall not be abridged." It doesn't say freedom of some of the press or freedom of the press that you agree with or that agrees with you.

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  4. Oh it's just going to be hilarious to watch Republicans acting shocked -- shocked! -- when Democrats do the same things they've let Bush and Cheney get away with for 8 years.

    Note that you've been duped AGAIN by your reliance on only right-wing sources, in this case Fox and The Washington Times. It turns out that not only does one of those newspapers itself dispute the Drudge/FOX/WT characterization, but they say they've had similar issues with the McCain campaign.

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  5. Access shouldn't be denied because of a lack of support.

    Maureen O'Dowd and Joe Klein have been banned from the McCain plane for months. I don't recall any shirt-tearing here.

    JA is dead right: It will be hillarious watching, etc, and you have been duped by RW sources.

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  6. Anon - Far cry between editorialists and news reporters.

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  7. "Oh it's just going to be hilarious to watch Republicans acting shocked -- shocked! -- when Democrats do the same things they've let Bush and Cheney get away with for 8 years."

    Gee, that's a mature and forward thinking approach to things.

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  8. Gee, that's a mature and forward thinking approach to things.

    Look, every time we've spoken up to say, no Bush shouldn't have unfettered power to lock people up without habeas or Bush shouldn't be allowed to wiretap citizens without a warrant, we've been derided as unpatriotic and deranged ("Bush derangement syndrome" anyone? As if complaining about the least-popular president on record could only be the result of mental illness?)

    So I will continue to oppose any said abuses of power and expansion of the executive branch under an Obama presidency. Pardon me if I laugh a little when I see the right-wing hypocrites suddenly discovering that they care about this sort of thing when it's a Democrat who wields the power they tripped over themselves to give to Bush.

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  9. And where have the Republicans been when we've been complaining about the administrations unprecedented level of secrecy, ignoring subpoenas, etc.? We've been complaining this whole time and we will continue to complain if Obama does that.

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  10. I'm not a Republican, so I don't really care about them or their feelings..or those of Democrats fot that matter.

    So if you tell me you'll be just as forcefully against a Democratic President should they act in a manner that you found so offensive of a Republican then I have no choice but to take you at your word.

    However, statement like the one i italicized above cast a little more than a shadow of a doubt on that being the reality.

    I hope to be proven wrong...I am not betting on it.

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