Obama/Biden vs. McCain/Palin

[GatewaySnayke]

JEF was trying to say that Barack Obama and Sarah Palin did the same thing by shutting the media out on vacation. Except that Barack Obama had met with the media, spent more than half of the year on the campaign trail and done about 25 debates before he went to Hawaii.

I'll start by saying I really dislike politics, but are you concerned that you aren't going to hear enough of Palin before this is all said and done?

I think I wrote that early Saturday morning and was more annoyed than anything.

[docellis]

JEF was trying to say that Barack Obama and Sarah Palin did the same thing by shutting the media out on vacation. Except that Barack Obama had met with the media, spent more than half of the year on the campaign trail and done about 25 debates before he went to Hawaii.

thanks for the clarification.

[Arthur Dent]

I DO understand that the media leans left, or at least gives the appearance that they do.

Really? What evidence is there that The Media (tm) leans left?

[Popeye_Card]

I DO understand that the media leans left, or at least gives the appearance that they do.

Really? What evidence is there that The Media (tm) leans left?

I don't have particular evidence, and I don't really want to fight the battle, but I usually apply a bit of a spin filter when I watch political coverage on most MSM channels.

[obucard]

I DO understand that the media leans left, or at least gives the appearance that they do.

Really? What evidence is there that The Media (tm) leans left?

CNN and MSNBC lean left as much as FoxNews leans right.

[jimedmondsfan]

You can go ahead and ask me that about Obama. And the answer is "no."

Her son gets deployed next week. So if she's up in Alaska and spending time with him, that means she'll have plenty of time to actually do an interview -- after he leaves -- for a magazine that doesn't fall under the "celebrity journalism" banner. Right?

Remember, she hasn't actually given an interview. The campaign put her in seclusion during the week. If Obama decided to shut the media out because he wanted to spend his time on the trail kicking it with his daughters instead of answering the same questions over and over -- would that be OK?

Didn't he pretty much do that when he spent a week on the beach in HI with his family???

Yes. Your point is?

My point is that it obviously WAS ok for Obama to hang out with his family (and none of them are leaving to go to a war zone for a year)...so it should be ok for Palin to have time with her son if she wants it. If the press has to wait--so be it.

[JL21]

[Arthur Dent]

I DO understand that the media leans left, or at least gives the appearance that they do.

Really? What evidence is there that The Media (tm) leans left?

I don't have particular evidence, and I don't really want to fight the battle, but I usually apply a bit of a spin filter when I watch political coverage on most MSM channels.

Well, sure. Media coverage of politics is often just repeating campaign spin instead of actual reporting. After applying the spin filter, there is often nothing left. Still, this claim that the media is "liberal" has come to be conventional wisdom despite a lack of evidence that it's actually true. If, for example, you count the number of partisan spokespeople appearing as sources on mainstream outlets, there is actually a conservative bias. That result also held during the Clinton administration, so it is not just a function of the party in power. In any case, partisan bias is far from the biggest problem with the news.

[Socnorb11]

You can go ahead and ask me that about Obama. And the answer is "no."

Her son gets deployed next week. So if she's up in Alaska and spending time with him, that means she'll have plenty of time to actually do an interview -- after he leaves -- for a magazine that doesn't fall under the "celebrity journalism" banner. Right?

Remember, she hasn't actually given an interview. The campaign put her in seclusion during the week. If Obama decided to shut the media out because he wanted to spend his time on the trail kicking it with his daughters instead of answering the same questions over and over -- would that be OK?

Didn't he pretty much do that when he spent a week on the beach in HI with his family???

Yes. Your point is?

My point is that it obviously WAS ok for Obama to hang out with his family (and none of them are leaving to go to a war zone for a year)...so it should be ok for Palin to have time with her son if she wants it. If the press has to wait--so be it.

Again, Obama took time off after being scrutinized and interrogated by the media for 15 months. Palin hasn't answered a single question. Not one. Nada.

Oh, and I think it's funny how everyone keeps talking about Palin's son going to Iraq, but nobody mentions that Biden's son is headed there, too. Biden didn't turn it into a propoganda stunt at the convention like Palin did. In fact, I don't think they even mentioned it. Biden's son isn't doing it for publicity. He's doing it for his country.

[cardinalkarp]

Biden's son isn't doing it for publicity. He's doing it for his country.

I would probably say that's the same for Palin's son as well.