Last week, after Barack Obama suggested that John McCain had “lost his bearings,” the McCain campaign responded with a lengthy memo that, among other things, went after campaign reporters for not favoring McCain enough. As Mark Salter insisted, Obama is “hopeful that the media will continue to form a protective barrier around him, declaring serious limits to the questions, discussion and debate in this race.”
For anyone who’s watched any aspect of the campaign for more than five minutes no doubt realizes, the McCain’s campaign’s response was a kind of projection. Nevertheless, on “Meet the Press” yesterday, the NYT’s John Harwood briefly touched on the subject.
For those who can’t watch clips online, Harwood explained that the McCain campaign, in a move that “many Republicans would find ironic,” is pushing the line that the press is friendlier to Obama. Harwood said, “John McCain’s benefited from very friendly press coverage for many years, but he’s going to try to argue, which will have corollary benefit of rallying conservatives, if he can pull it off, of saying, ‘The press wants Obama to win. I’m pushing back, too.'”
Tim Russert added, “In 2002, John McCain referred to the press as his base.” To which Harwood responded, “They were his base.”
What’s less clear is what reporters and news outlets plan to do about this realization. They know they’ve offered McCain fawning, sometimes sycophantic, coverage. They know that it’s incumbent on them to be more professional. They know they’ve repeatedly fallen short of their own standards.
But I haven’t seen any evidence that the media is taking steps to correct the mistake. Just the opposite, actually.
By now, we’re all pretty familiar with the “work the refs” phenomenon. Part of me has assumed that the media, tired of the pro-McCain bias being highlighted and ridiculed, would want to go out of their way to prove they aren’t in the tank for this guy. It would seem like a natural response — when the coverage becomes almost comically ingratiating, reporters want to prove their mettle by pushing in the other direction.
But that hasn’t happened at all. I’ve been waiting for nine years for news outlets to stop treating McCain like a folk hero — I mean that literally; Roger Simon actually once labeled McCain a “folk hero” — and yet the fawning coverage continues.
In March, McCain brought his buddies from the media over to his house for a barbecue. A month later, reporters gave McCain some his favorite tasty treats.
McCain’s moderators, the AP’s Ron Fournier and Liz Sidoti, greeted McCain with a box of Dunkin’ Donuts. “We spend quite a bit of time with you on the back of the Straight Talk Express asking you questions, and what we’ve decided to do today was invite everyone else along on the ride,” Sidoti explained. “We even brought you your favorite treat.”
McCain opened the offering. “Oh, yes, with sprinkles!” he said.
Sidoti passed him a cup. “A little coffee with a little cream and a little sugar,” she said.
And when will this end? To hear reporters tell it, someday.
