AP Says McCain Is A ‘Man Of The People’ For Taking Train Despite Noting He Rode First Class
AP Says McCain Is A ‘Man Of The People’ For Taking Train Despite Noting He Rode First Class
Earlier this month, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) hosted a “thank you” Sunday cookout for over 40 reporters from a wide variety of news outlets at his vacation home in Arizona. McCain’s expression of goodwill came despite a brief falling out with those covering his presidential campaign following the New York Times story that questioned his relationships with lobbyists.
ThinkProgress noted at the time that the reporters took the bait. His “charm offensive” to “woo the reporters” and appease the press — who have been said to be his political “base” — paid off as reports from the event not only praised McCain but also boasted of his cooking skills.
Now, McCain is reaping the dividends. The Associated Press published an article this afternoon that focused solely on the fact that, even though he has access to a charter plane, McCain took a train from Washington D.C. to Philadelphia. More than that, the article praised him for it, calling him a “man of the people.” Yet two sentences later, the AP included a detail of the trip that completely undermines that claim:
John McCain traveled like a man of the people Friday morning, riding an Amtrak train to Philadelphia after a late night of voting in Washington.
“Nice to see you, nice to see you,” McCain said to workers and passengers who greeted him on the 8 a.m. high-speed Acela Express train.
McCain, accompanied by a campaign aide, was left alone by the public as he sat in the first-class car for much of the 1 1/2 hour trip.
The article, of course, was written by Libby Quaid, who not only attended McCain’s barbecue, but also filed a story from where it was held.
It is well known that McCain tries to cozy up to the press. The fact that McCain has “flattered, befriended, and courted reporters” allows articles published about him to say he’s a “man of the people” despite taking an upscale, “high-speed” train while riding in “the first-class car.”
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38 Responses to “AP Says McCain Is A ‘Man Of The People’ For Taking Train Despite Noting He Rode First Class”
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That "retreat" in Sedona, the one where McMaverick fed the press his weiner, has really paid off. The press apparently loved McMaverick's weiner, and is eager to earn some more.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:03 pmHes a man of the centrists, those divisive fence sitters.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:04 pmWhy does McSame say everything twice?
Wasnt that a Dick Tracy character?
March 14th, 2008 at 8:08 pmis that howie? howard kurtz, "American journalist, blogger, author and media writer for the Washington Post"?... supposed "media critic"?
where is HIS critical piece on this "ride"?
March 14th, 2008 at 8:10 pmMcCain: A man of the people.. Please... He is only taking the train because his war chest of campaign funds are running low. He switched from Starbucks to bring your own coffee from home on the road. McCain: A man that sold his soul and got in bed again and again with the Bushies.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:10 pmSince there is only one kind of 'people' in these reporters eyes, they're right - he IS a lot like the reporters who are interviewing him; rich, out of touch, pompous, and elitist.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:15 pmremember when hillary was flying with the press, making a big deal out of it?
March 14th, 2008 at 8:15 pmwe later found out, that was because she actually ran out of money - no private jets... could this be a cost cutting move by mcSAME?
A man of the people... bomb bomb bomb Iran.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:16 pmTP,
The new color scheme is drab and boring!!
Why is the flag heading in brown/sepia?
I like RED, WHITE and BLUE very much!!!
Where are the colors?
March 14th, 2008 at 8:16 pm.
And yes, Marie Antoinette was a women of the French.
.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:17 pmAh, yes, McCain: truly a common man, an equal to the people. Understand, he's just a bit more common, and a little more equal, and that gets you into the First Class car where you don't have to actually see, touch, hear, or smell all that commonness.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:18 pmMcCain promotion by corporate media is picking up steam..this is gonna be a long hard 'SLOG'!
March 14th, 2008 at 8:31 pmAh, yes, lovely to see Kurtz there, the man who crusaded in the fight to stop Obama's free ride!
After all, only one man can get a free ride here, and that's the man giving Kurtz HIS free ride!
Schmuck....
March 14th, 2008 at 8:31 pmTest
March 14th, 2008 at 8:59 pmWe should start putting these folk on notice, that we will be watching to see how impartially they report on McCain. No more Russerts with their GOP pins conveniently hidden on their lapels.
March 14th, 2008 at 9:00 pmHow much more lazy can the Press get? How much more stupid ans naive can they be? I guess McCain has the same "qualities" that the Chimp in Chief" has. And we're getting suckered again by them because of that!
March 14th, 2008 at 9:02 pmA man of the people. Ah, yes. Because "the people" can afford a $191, first-class ticket for the 90-minute trail ride from D.C. to Philadelphia. If they're fat-cat politicians or courtier reporters, that is.
March 14th, 2008 at 9:07 pm"McCain, accompanied by a campaign aide, was left alone by the public as he sat in the first-class car for much of the 1 1/2 hour trip."
Hold it. There are normally a number of passengers who take first class on that train. If McCain was alone, other than with a campaign aide, with no "public," that would indicate that they bought out the car. The high-speed Acela Express train First Class car has 44 seats. They cost $206 each. If McCain bought out the car, it cost over $9,000 for him to do so. "Man of the People," indeed. I do believe a charter plane would have been considerably less costly.
March 14th, 2008 at 9:13 pmOh, and that's one way.
March 14th, 2008 at 9:14 pmwhat utter crap! Anyone that would take a plane from Washington to Philadelphia instead of the train is a moron, charter or not. So I guess what the butt-plug AP reporter is really saying that not being a moron qualifies republicans as being 'of the people'.
March 14th, 2008 at 9:25 pm.
A man of the people would ride the train EVERYDAY.
March 14th, 2008 at 9:30 pmi just heard anderson cooper with a lead in for his show tonight... all about the obama pastor kerfuffle... he made a remark about mcSAME having some of the same kind of troubles, "but nowhere NEAR the attantion that this (obama) is getting"...
gee... huh... imagine that........
March 14th, 2008 at 9:50 pmI've noticed in the last year or two an increasing number of AP stories that appear to be written by propagandists.
March 14th, 2008 at 9:51 pmThe AP has been corrupted.
oh, he said obama will be on the show tonight...
i will see olbermann later tonight for that interview...
funny, earlier rachel announced that she will NOT be on keith's show tonight,
March 14th, 2008 at 9:55 pmthat she was getting bumped, and she could not ask to be bumped by a
better person - obama...
Apparently AP reporters are easier and a whole lot cheaper than Spitzers whore. A bbq'd chicken leg and a couple of compliments and the journalistic blow job is on.
March 14th, 2008 at 10:01 pmHmm, next McCain will show up to a photo op in a hybrid and leave in an Expedition. Oh, the Rethugs have already done that? Hmph.
March 14th, 2008 at 10:10 pmHe's on the train 'cause he's broke.
Soon, he will be on Greyhound. Now THAT will be amusing!
And I hope Obama has some good security on that airplane! I'll have to give him more.
March 14th, 2008 at 10:51 pmI find this attempt by McCain to portray himself as a "man of the people" by riding an Amtrak train particularly ironic considering the man has been one of Amtrak's staunchest opponents, and would break up the railroad if given half a chance.
March 14th, 2008 at 11:40 pmMcCain's the smart one if the reports buy into his b.s. Invite them to the house and show them around, cook some meat, slather on the sauce and slap the reporters on the back. If you make some of these people feel like something, they'll feel they owe it to the guy to do something for him. Lord knows I've seen old sports reporters do it for years here in southern California while I've tried to work my way up the ladder and not bought into the give-out-the-freebie-article(s) crap.
March 15th, 2008 at 12:33 amMrs,Mcmaverick looks none to happy about being on that train, looks like The Straight Talk Express is "Riding the Rails" already.
March 15th, 2008 at 1:26 amI understand that when Bush knighted McCain at the
March 15th, 2008 at 2:25 amWhite House, he branded McCain's ass "USDA Approved"
since it's common knowledge that this Maverick is
tainted beef.
Anyone else catch Dana Bash of CNN on Anderson Cooper 360 tonight? During the story about Barack's minister she nearly tied herself in knots when the question of Hagee's endorsement of McCantankerous came up.
360 indeed. The degree to which we'll twist and turn to give McCantakerous every break we can.
Love those McRibs.
March 15th, 2008 at 2:52 amJust looked at that picture again. Why is it that McCantankerous is the only one smiling while everyone else has a guilty look on their face? Howie looks downright indictable.
March 15th, 2008 at 2:56 amYeah, Hagee and Parsley. Take a look at McCain's spiritual guides here!
http://beertap.wordpress.com/
March 15th, 2008 at 3:10 amThe people ride trains? Gimme a break. The people ride cattle class on those no good, reprehensible, incompetent, employee-and-public shafting so-called airlines.
Next time I won't hold anything back.
March 15th, 2008 at 5:43 pmGuess he doesn't take the same train I do hee in Boston. MBTA not the same as his I guess.
March 15th, 2008 at 11:18 pmA bbq’d chicken leg and a couple of compliments and the journalistic blow job is on.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:19 amMcCain’s the smart one if the reports buy into his b.s. Invite them to the house and show them around, cook some meat, slather on the sauce and slap the reporters on the back. If you make some of these people feel like something, they’ll feel they owe it to the guy to do something for him. Lord knows I’ve seen old sports reporters do it for years here in hp f2024b battery,hp pavilion 5000 battery southern California while I’ve tried to work my way up the ladder and not bought into the give-out-the-freebie-article(s) crap.
October 15th, 2008 at 5:10 am