Having worked in political communications for nearly two decades, I have been trying to avoid watching U.S. Sen. John McCain and his communications team and campaign as they have reverted from grown men and women into jealous, petulant children over media coverage of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama.
But it's like driving by a car wreck -- you try not to look; you do it anyway.
McCain's campaign reached a new low yesterday, sending a pathetic "valentine" to reporters that mocked them for being biased in their coverage toward Obama.
Check the love-o-gram out here:
To be sure, some reporters may be swooning. But this is pretty rich coming from McCain, who has long enjoyed a sweetheart relationship with starstruck reporters who saw the Arizona Republican as a "maverick;" who couldn't wait to board the Staright Talk Express; who caused candidate George W. Bush to whine that the media was biased toward McCain.
According to ABC News:
The critique of the news media is particularly striking coming from McCain, R-Ariz., who has long enjoyed a cozy relationship with journalists. In 2000 and 2008, his Republican rivals accused members of the media of being too close to McCain, and McCain once jokingly referred to the political press corps as "my base."
McCain and Co. are incensed at the coverage that Obama is receiving abroad. He is meeting with heads of state, is being received as a head of state and sounds like a head of state.
According to a report from the Chicago Tribune's Mike Dorning:
Barack Obama has three months to go before voters decide whether he will become president, but on Tuesday he adopted much of the pageantry of a leader on the world stage as he completed an official visit of war zones and met up with the considerable media entourage waiting to accompany him on a tour of foreign capitals.
Obama's trip put him among ancient ruins on a hilltop, fielding questions on international issues in an outdoor news conference with the backdrop a majestic view of Jordan's capital.
He dined with King Abdullah II of Jordan at his palace and was chauffeured to his departing plane by the king, who drove Obama to the jet's stairs in his Mercedes 600...
The day's events provided the imagery of a candidate appearing poised and confident in the international arena, with no major gaffes to further a story line of inexperience.
But wait? Isn't foreign policy supposed to be McCain's strength? What's wrong with this picture? While Obama is preparing to deliver what promises to be an historic speech in Berlin tomorrow, McCain was left home alone to talk about gas prices in New Hampshire. This from the man who admitted he doesn't know much about the economy? Yes, it's true. McCain has become a one-note Johnny. The only things he talks about are offshore drilling and gas prices, backed up by ridiculous, creepy and blatantly false ads like the one Jake wrote about yesterday.
Again, McCain's campaign fell back on bizarre attempts at pathetic humor, issuing press credentials for the campaign's Wilkes-Barre visit today that read: "McCain Press Corps: JV Squad. 'Left behind to report in America.' " The credentials were complete with a picture of the Statue of Liberty, according to ABC's Bret Hovell.
And McCain is still smarting from his rejected New York Times op-ed piece. The Politico reports that a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives is circulating a letter among his colleagues asking them to sign on to a missive he will send to the paper asking whether it will run an ad that includes the text of the rejected op-ed. The hope is that a third-party will pay for the ad. Stay tuned.
And speaking of the New York Times, I'll wrap up with an excellent article by that paper's Alessandra Stanley. Some of the funnier snippets, in case you don't have time to read the whole piece:
On Tuesday, Mr. McCain held a town hall-style meeting in Rochester, N.H. In the shadow of the ancient Temple of Hercules in Amman, Jordan, Mr. Obama solemnly described his vision for peace in the region while standing at a lectern, the Middle East sprawling out behind him. Reporters were cordoned in front of him like the White House press corps — except that an audio snag kept their questions inaudible.
All three cable news networks carried Mr. Obama’s news conference live and in full. They showed only parts of Mr. McCain’s forum and focused mostly on his reaction to Mr. Obama’s statements. Even Fox News broke away from Mr. McCain midevent to cover the rescue of a bear cub wounded in a California fire and nicknamed Lil’ Smokey.
And more:
Touring ruins of the Citadel in Amman, Mr. Obama strode confidently with his jacket crooked over his shoulder in classic Kennedy style. He also practiced statesmanly restraint, telling reporters in Amman that he wouldn’t criticize his opponent while abroad.
Some images are so potent that Fox News, which hammers at Mr. Obama’s lack of foreign policy experience, uses its headline crawls as disclaimers: Shots of his arrival in Iraq were captioned, “Obama in Iraq: Second-Ever Trip There.”
McCain aides haven’t been nearly as creative on his behalf: their stagecraft has been notably unflattering to the candidate. While Mr. Obama was shown striding across military tarmacs and inspecting troops standing at attention, Mr. McCain on Monday was seen being driven around in a golf cart by former President George Bush in the resort town of Kennebunkport, Me. Later, the two men spoke to reporters side by side at a waterfront, and they looked more like fellow members of a Past Presidents’ Club than a party elder passing the torch to his political heir.
It has indeed been a bad press week for Old Man McCain. Even Lil' Smokey beat him out.
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