Washington Post’s Weisman unsure of what to think of media coverage of McCain.
Washington Post’s Weisman unsure of what to think of media coverage of McCain.
Throughout this week, Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) campaign has been lambasting his traditional media “base” for what it sees as unfavorable coverage. In a Washington Post discussion yesterday, reporter Jonathan Weisman was asked about coverage of the race. Weisman said he is “sympathetic” to McCain’s complaints:
Look, you have to be a bit sympathetic to the McCain camp’s complaints, at least for this week. Obama has thoroughly dominated coverage.
But later in the same chat, Weisman seemingly flip-flopped and criticized the McCain campaign for being “whiny”:
They just looked a little whiny. The McCain folks knew they were going to be overshadowed. They should have just laid low and let it pass. Instead, they complained and tried (but failed) to counterprogram. I think that compounded the problem.
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60 Responses to “Washington Post’s Weisman unsure of what to think of media coverage of McCain.”
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McCRAZY doesn't need coverage.... he has lost it (his mind) the only thing worthy of covering him is to see when he completely loses it... not far off...
July 26th, 2008 at 10:34 amI saw and heard plenty from McCain this past week. Very little of it was impressive.
July 26th, 2008 at 10:34 amIf he got the level of coverage he desires, the jig would be up and Americans would see what a senile old nimrod he really is. What out what you wish for ya old coot....Ya just might get it :)~
July 26th, 2008 at 10:46 amShould've read: WATCH out....at #3
July 26th, 2008 at 10:47 amOff topic-but four people tried a citizen's arrest of Karl Rove in Iowa, of all places.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2537776420080725
Of course they ended up in the pokey instead of the man violating legal subpoenas.
July 26th, 2008 at 10:48 amon topic of news coverage, i found this earlier:
4000 US Combat Deaths, and Just a Handful of Images
New York Times - 15 hours ago
By MICHAEL KAMBER and TIM ARANGO BAGHDAD - The case of a freelance photographer in Iraq who was barred from covering the Marines after he posted photos on the Internet of several of them dead has underscored what some journalists say is a growing ...
[...]
NYT Complaint: Not Enough Photos Of Mutilated American Soldiers in ... NewsBusters
i read most of the NYT story; didn't bother to link to the other... just found the newsbusters headline interesting...
a very twisted take on the situation...
imagine that...
July 26th, 2008 at 10:59 amI've met more people this week that ruled Krusty out because of his behavior than I had in the last six months.
July 26th, 2008 at 10:59 amand, check out the links at C&L about mcBUSH's media:
John McCain, gaffe machine?
July 26th, 2008 at 11:03 amhttp://www.crooksandliars.com/
If McNumbNuts wants coverage, he is going to have to do something more newsworthy than have lunch at Schmidt's German Sausage restaurant with that little wimp, Lindsey Graham.
To turn a republican phrase around on Little Johnny, "don't whine and expect the media to give you something for free -- you have to get out there and earn it".
July 26th, 2008 at 11:07 amThe way the McBlame campaign handled this week draws many comparisons with the implosion of Hillary's campaign last winter, which, of course, assured an Obama win.
Start saying really stupid things about the other candidate, then continue with nonstop whining of the coverage, until an ultimate loss is guaranteed.
Deja vu all over again.
PEACE
July 26th, 2008 at 11:11 amThere are two ways to attempt to even the playing field. The first is to draw attention to one's self and elevate one's position by limning the good things one has accomplished thereby equalling or bettering the deeds of one's opponent. The second is to advertise every real or imagined fault of one's opponent thereby attempting to lower him to one's own level.
McPain has a twofold problem here. By accepting the position of McBushIII he has automatically eliminated any chance of elevating his position any higher than the San Francisco Sewer. His second problem is that no one, including KKKarl, can imagine enough bad stuff to lower President Obama to his own level.
Just keep on whining there Rip McWinkle for you too shall awaken--way too late.
moondancer Says: "I’ve met more people this week that ruled Krusty ..." Thanks for the "K." I don't want to be at McPain's level.
July 26th, 2008 at 11:11 amMcCain is just another out of the mold Republican. Obama, like its politics or not, is a fresh breeze of air. McCain offers nothing new and is a mediocre politician, while Obama has personality that rarely is seen in professional politics. So, McCain, if you want to improve your image, work in your charisma, because right now is in tatters (except for the 28ers, of course).
July 26th, 2008 at 11:26 amWashington Post’s Weisman unsure of what to think of media coverage of McCain.
I'm ready, willing and able to tell him what to think, if that is all it takes to plant an opinion in him!
July 26th, 2008 at 11:29 amSo, therefore, altough official news media favor McCain in its coverage, the underground (blogs, etc.) is comparing both candidates, and doing its work. McCainers know that a popular backing is very important and whine time and again for even more media coverage, but aren't doing what is needed really, a solid campaing with a good candidate, as is the one of Obama.
July 26th, 2008 at 11:29 amMad Dick Morris was on Fox last night begging the Israelis to bomb Iran ASAP. He laid out the scenario of a major Middle East war in his short-breathed, trembly fashion, and indicated the greatest benefit would be to prevent that scary European Socialist (Black man)from becoming president. Dick makes Lou Dobbs look like he's on 'ludes.
July 26th, 2008 at 11:31 amIf McCain is upset by the U.S. media focus on Obama, I'm sure he'd be equally upset by the foreign press. From an op-ed in the U.K.'s Guardian:
"Barack Obama may beat John McCain in November to be the next president of the United States. But if Europeans had a vote in this year's race for the White House, Mr Obama would be a shoo-in. Opinion polls show that Britons prefer him by three to one over Mr McCain, Italians by five to one, the French by eight to one and Germans by a landslide 10 to one. Perhaps after the Bush years Europeans would embrace any half-decent successor with this level of initial enthusiasm. But Mr Obama's popular appeal, here as in America, is a more positive phenomenon than that."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/26/barackobama.uselections2008
July 26th, 2008 at 11:32 amYear's ago we had a real stinker in our local county...He was in office for 20 something year's and a young reporter interviewed him about the fact he rarely spent money on campaign's and alway's won even though he had many legal strike's against him...The old coot responded with," people rarely remember the bad you did but come election time they remember your name".....After that article came out the following Nov. he finelly lost his bid for another term...
I do think there is a lot of truth in his statement though...Many voter's vote time after time for a party with out really looking at the candidate as well...
Mcnut's has had lot's of coverage on the net and here daily..I would much prefer seeing one thread on this dreadful person and all the junk he doe's in one day than the half dozen daily we now have......
OT sorry, my buddy is doing well today after her surgery....Thank's for your thought's......Blessings
July 26th, 2008 at 11:33 amHey, witch1, good to see you, and glad to hear that your friend is doing ok. Your fellow critters were concerned. Blessings and a hug!
Back on topic, I agree with stewarjt @ #15, if Weisman is 'unsure of what to think', plenty of us here could certainly tell him. And this guy writes for the Post? They shouldn't hire writers who can't even form an opinion.
July 26th, 2008 at 11:40 amThank's Jane, back at ya and sending Blessings to all..
July 26th, 2008 at 11:43 amThat's big doin's if you're part of the ever smaller group of Americans that support Bushco.
July 26th, 2008 at 11:44 amI don't really think that's a "flip-flop". Just because someone should know they'll be overshadowed doesn't mean you can't feel bad for them lol.
July 26th, 2008 at 11:45 amI think Exit Stage Left is right: more coverage of McCrazy will hurt him, not help him.
July 26th, 2008 at 11:47 amI'll pass your blessings on, witch1. Enjoy your day!
July 26th, 2008 at 11:49 amthey’ll be overshadowed doesn’t mean you can’t feel bad for them lol.
July 26th, 2008 at 11:45 am
that's like feeling sorry for Ass-croft cuz he lost to a dead man...
July 26th, 2008 at 11:49 amNagahapun...
I'm pretty sure you're being sarcastic but still, feeling bad for someone should be for when something unpredictably bad happens to them.....
Do you think the mccain camp feels bad for all the Americans losing their homes to the criminal mortgage companies.....I don't think so. They do want to help the poor mortgage companies though.
July 26th, 2008 at 11:56 amOsama bin Ladin, Hugo Chavez,and every other "enemy of the state" must be giddy with delight over the prospect of McLame getting elected. If his administration is as addled as his campaign the American Empire will continue to spiral down the drain.
July 26th, 2008 at 12:04 pmThank's Jane, you have a good day as well..Mine started at 5A.M with my buddie's and I talking polatic's on the dock while fishing....They went home with a couple of croppie and now I'm on to feeding the bird's and hugging the trees.....Blessings
July 26th, 2008 at 12:05 pmGlad to hear that #1 we were all worried.
July 26th, 2008 at 12:12 pmMaye the media should stop chasing both these candidates around like little lap dogs and start examining their positions. That may not solve the "whining" problem but it would go a long way towards informing voters.
A novel idea but it's so crazy it just might work.
http://progressiveworldreview.com
July 26th, 2008 at 12:14 pmMcCain does nothing of interest and then complains he's not being covered. I thought the Republicans were the folks against the fairness doctrine but then he thinks he should be covered the exact amount of time Obama is.
My guess is that the polls are being caged just the way the election was to give us the impression that the vote will be closer than it is.
July 26th, 2008 at 12:14 pmLoved the label given to McCain standing in the cheese aisle - Mac and Cheese. Obama might have been slightly over the top in Europe but it beat the heck out of McCain's bottom of the barrel whining all week about lack of press coverage. What a wonderful contrast between the two events. Obama in front of the Brandenburg Gate and McCain in front of the shredded cheddar. Perfect backdrop for a cheesey old fert.
July 26th, 2008 at 12:16 pmHussein McCain Says:
Mad Dick Morris was on Fox last night begging the Israelis to bomb Iran ASAP. He laid out the scenario of a major Middle East war in his short-breathed, trembly fashion
Maybe he was thinking about sucking on some skanky hooker's toes and it got him all trembly and short-breathed.
The character of these pundits is amazing. Fox has the toe sucker, Morris, Oliver North, the guy who sold missiles to Iran, the heavy breathing falafel king, and the college dropouts Hannity and Rove to define reality for people.
And then you have Novack,the hit and run driver, the bloated hillbilly heroin addict and all the rest.
I guess when the only qualification for the job is the willingness to do or say anything for a buck, that's the quality of character you get.
July 26th, 2008 at 12:18 pmI saw a clip of McCain with a background of packaged cold cuts such as Oscar Myer baloney behind him this morning.
He was droning on as the supermarket loudspeaker drowned him out.
The other day it was him droning on oblivious to the fact that the wind chimes were drowning him out.
It's just amazing to me the complete lack of basic common sense in his campaign.
July 26th, 2008 at 12:25 pmAnd they just don't seem to learn and adapt either.
If he gets elected his Presidency will be a train wreck on par with the Bush mess.
Back at ya Shayne, Thank's for all your thought's and concern's... Blessings
July 26th, 2008 at 12:25 pmIt sort of reminds me of that expression of putting make-up on a pig. McCain wants the press to show him in the right light. Edit out his blatant errors, daily flip-flops and incredible miscalculations, and bring him frosted donuts with sprinkles, on top of all that. Sorry McCain. You still look like a pig.
July 26th, 2008 at 12:26 pm“There are two ways to attempt to even the playing field… by elevating one’s own position…or lowering one’s opponent…”
That’s a nice summation of boilerplate election politicking C. O. Bastard and it’s also a problem in itself: I’d argue that a significant number who would (and have in the past) accept such tactics are more aware of this tried and true technique.
This election isn’t the usual popularity contest, despite Obama’s telegenic qualities. Policy positions matter a lot more this time around and McCain’s simply don’t fit a lot of voters’ desires or needs--especially the needs.
McCain simply doesn’t recognize the position he is in and that lack of cognizance is hard for even the most naives, ignorant and unsophisticated voters to swallow.
What’s truly amazingly stupid is that McCain is trying to build a bridge from the GOP’s recent past to what he claims will be a better future. Not even the 27-per-centers are actually buying that—they’re just backing him out of dogmatic party loyalty.
McCain has nothing new to offer the GOP or to the nation.
July 26th, 2008 at 12:27 pmObama IMHO is a bit ‘oversold’ in many respects but by virtue of who he is and the Party he represents in general he offers considerable practical change which is what the vast majority, through bitter experience wants and what this country desperately needs.
McCain to Obama:
"Get off my lawn!"
July 26th, 2008 at 12:27 pmShayne Says:
... I thought the Republicans were the folks against the fairness doctrine...
good point... i've thought of that occasionally also...
wonder if they even realize the advantages...
think they'll flip-flop on that?
ha!
July 26th, 2008 at 12:30 pmMcCain's biggest issue isn't with any media--his floundering campaign is due in large part because he is a Republican idiot who has nothing for America but "the surge." McCain will look like a real dullard at the debates when the only answer he gives to every question is, "My, friends, the surge worked."
July 26th, 2008 at 12:31 pmi just can't shake it... got a feeling the fix is in...
or, at least he THINKS it is... he was promised, i guess...
that's why he's always grinnin'... that creepy smile thing...
creepy.
July 26th, 2008 at 12:39 pmI saw the coverage of McCain in a food store,even when he was only talking to two or three people.
July 26th, 2008 at 12:40 pmSo, why these people think the media is not fair to him. He flops everyday..and the media looks the other side..that alone is a nice favor for McCain ?
If McCain can gather over 6000 people to speak to, then that would be impressive, by his standards,but so far he has not been able to get big crowds to sit and wait to listen to him.
Obama was able to do that...so McCain camp and his lovers are making noise over unfairness of media coverage to McCain.
What does he want...a 'live coverage' of buying few things in a food store. !!!
tarazan Says:
What does he want…a ‘live coverage’ of buying few things in a food store. !!!
July 26th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
He probably thought that people would be impressed because he knew how much a gallon of milk costs. Maybe he feels that this proves he's up on economics.
July 26th, 2008 at 12:48 pmWhen McCain was asked by food store worker:" May I help you"?
July 26th, 2008 at 12:51 pmConfused McCain said :" Yes, can you tell me where I can find the 'Surge'".
Above the Clouds Says: "McCain will look like a real dullard at the debates..."
He looks like a real dullard no matter where he is. And for that very reason his care-givers will never roll his wheelchair onto a debate stage. At least some of them will be reminded of that old adage (Will Rogers I believe): It is better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.
July 26th, 2008 at 12:51 pmMcStake doesn't really want more coverage of his campaign (unless Katie Couric does the editting). He just wants more coverage of his complaints about lack of coverage.
July 26th, 2008 at 12:52 pmFirst McCain complains that Obama has rarely been overseas and talked with world leaders, then he complains about Obama going overseas and talking with world leaders. I think it was amazing McCain got as much press coverage as he did last week when he was doing nothing.
July 26th, 2008 at 1:25 pmMcCain in the cheese aisle was his-
Dukakis in a helmet moment.
¶ AIO
July 26th, 2008 at 1:37 pmThis past week has been damaging to McCain, and the republicans, and when we look back, it will appear as the time when it all fell apart for conservatives. First, McCain gets punked al Maliki, with his call for a timeline, damaging McCain's foreign-policy image; and gas prices have begun to decline, cutting the floor out from under republican efforts to drill in ecologically sensitive areas. I think the oil companies have decided their legislative push is doomed to failure, and if they want to keep November from being a total blowout for republicans, this little gas price increase needs to be reversed. Even the local news anchors here in San Diego are acknowleding that they think it was a gas company ploy to get at ANWR and the American coasts, and that prices will no doubt be back in the $3 to $3.50 range by November.
July 26th, 2008 at 1:40 pm#42 Katy, Yep! And I will go one further, not only do I believe the fix is in I believe all the block and tackler's in the dem. party that have been shielding bush are also in on it...They will do anything to stay in power and help cover up all the messes from this entire administration including the 105 in the house and 68 in the senate that voted for FISA..Just saying...Blessings
July 26th, 2008 at 1:43 pmThis is sad, McOld has spent way too much time in Congress... he claims hs knows how to win a war, which war ?? the only thing he was good at was being a POW.. he has never won a war... 20 some years of living off on the backs of us taxpayers is enough. I for one am voting ALL incumbents out of office... enough is enough...Go Bob Barr
July 26th, 2008 at 1:44 pmbarfly: ... Even the local news anchors here in San Diego ...
hey, i thought you were in LA... that's why i asked for the tourist info (for pasadena) a while back...
now i know...
...
hotelal: ... the only thing he was good at was being a POW...
was he?
no way that being the admirals' prince helped him out... eh?
bobbarr? yea, there's another prince of a guy...
yeesh.
July 26th, 2008 at 2:30 pmkaty Says:
hey, i thought you were in LA… that’s why i asked for the tourist info (for pasadena) a while back…
Sorry; I occasionally delivery-drive up there, but I'm based down here, in SD. That's why I mentioned the wild-flowers, and Camp Pendleton: I drive past that area on a weekly basis, and see the foliage change. But I'm a Pasadena virgin. Drive past it a lot, though...
July 26th, 2008 at 2:40 pmGee I guess you can't be sympathetic to a person's situation and also think they handled it badly? Wow human beings are so one-dimensional. I'm a little tired of these inane, really pointless posts in ThinkProgress. There are better things to focus on.
I suggest you stop your whining of the media's comments of McCain and find something that rises to the level of actual news to discuss and comment on: droughts affecting state economies, people's economic plights, increasing crime and online child abuse are just a few.
July 26th, 2008 at 5:25 pmI think McCain is starting to sound like a bad mother-in-law, the kind you don't even want to let into the house...
July 26th, 2008 at 7:04 pmmcchimpy why do you want your ignorance shown?
Can't you see the world is looking at your dumbass and laughing?
I dare you to go to Europe and try to "horizon" your ass out of open ended question!
HAHAHAHAHAHA
mcchimpy is tie with Sen. Obama? in your dreams.
July 26th, 2008 at 9:14 pmMcSame had just as much coverage. He said Obama over and over and over. He claimed to have been the one and only who thought of the surge. He single handedly pulled off the surge and he isn't getting the respect he deserves. He is an angry old may yelling at the clouds and then the msm is afraid that they are going to upset him. They spend hours talking about how he may not be getting the coverage he needs. The guy goes to VFW halls and talks to old men about Vietnam for gods sake. McSame is not good for America...he is more of the Bush Crime Family.
July 27th, 2008 at 1:31 amI wouldn't call that a flipflop. You can be sympathetic with a child who's throwing a hissy fit.
July 27th, 2008 at 10:13 amMcCain's voice on TV seems muted, at times; microphone volumes should be increased, or always fairly adjusted!!
July 27th, 2008 at 2:55 pmWeisman sounds like a Mcwars flip flopper himself. Where is this guy when the old man flip flops on the issues several times a day........
Obama is a rock star and Johnny Mcwars is old news and Mcsame as the shrub, so who needs him.......
July 28th, 2008 at 9:14 amWeisman is a shameful, pathetic hack. Back in April, in one of his blogs, he rationalized the media's failure to report on McCain's inconsistencies and flip-flopping by saying, "McCain has cultivated an image that has branded him as an independent maverick now for more than a decade."
Huh? When did it become OK for journalists to merely accept an “image” that a politician has “cultivated?” And why should they be content with a “brand,” just because it has endured “for more than a decade?” Isn’t it the duty of journalists to look past the image and seek the truth? And isn’t it likely that such images endure precisely because these complacent, incompetent charlatans don’t do their jobs?
July 28th, 2008 at 8:04 pm