Oh boy. It goes on.... McCain permitted the press to observe Palin meeting with the Colombian president, for a whole 15 to 20 seconds, then kicks them out.

Wow, brave media. After treating the press like dirt this morning and refusing to let anyone cover Palin's meetings with foreign leaders at the UN, leading CNN to cancel its camera coverage of Palin's phony photo opps, the Palin/McCain campaign promised the media that it was all a misunderstanding. So during the next event, the media was let in to cover it. All for a grand total of 15 to 20 seconds. Then they were told to get out. At this point you'd start to think the McCain camp is trying to hide something about Palin...

Have none of these people ever watched any Charlie Brown? Are they stupid or something? The press never had any clue that Palin/McCain woud pull the football out from under them again. And again and again.




Seriously, stop covering these phony photo opps. Stop sending people on McCain's bus and plane (when you're not even on McCain's bus anyway, real journalists were kicked off of that thing long ago). It's like the Stockholm Syndrome with you people. I'm expecting the Palin/McCain campaign to release a photo any day now of Candy Crowley with a Tommy Gun.




 Quote:
September 23, 2008
McCain camp tries to keep reporters out of Palin meetings
Posted: 02:45 PM ET

From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby


(CNN) — McCain-Palin campaign officials shifted course Tuesday after being informed by television news organizations that they would not broadcast footage of Sarah Palin’s meeting with Afghan leader Hamid Karzai Tuesday in New York — the Republican VP nominee’s first with a foreign leader — if a reporter was not allowed in to observe the pair.


The media was allowed to observe Palin and Karzai for less than 30 seconds.

CNN, which was the pool network for the event, informed the campaign of its decision. The network was then told a CNN producer would be allowed in the room to act as a media representative, just minutes before the photo op was scheduled to take place. However, print reporters and wire services were not allowed to observe the meeting, as they have been able to do at similar McCain events in the past.

The press only caught a brief glimpse of the vice presidential nominee. Palin was seated in a large chair a few feet from Karzai, with a table in between them. Seated slightly behind Palin were campaign foreign policy advisers Steve Biegun and Randy Scheunemann, who are accompanying the governor in her motorcade today.

As the pool entered, the Afghan president appeared to be telling Palin about his young son, who was born in January 2007.

Palin, her legs crossed and at one point patting her heart, was leaning in eagerly and smiling. Karzai, wearing his traditional clothes but without his trademark karakul hat, was also grinning while discussing the child. His remarks were mostly unintelligible as the noise from the clicking cameras drowned them out.

“What is his name?,” Palin asked.

“Mirwais,” Karzai responded. “Mirwais, which means, ‘The Light of the House.’”

“Oh nice,” Palin responded.

“He is the only one we have,” remarked Karzai.

After 29 seconds observing the meeting, CNN and other photographers covering the meeting were escorted out of the room.

Later, McCain-Palin press representatives chalked up the restrictions to a “mix-up, a miscommunication among staff.” The full pool — a print and wires reporter, along with a television producer — was then allowed in to observe Palin’s meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe for 15-20 seconds.


Wow. what a substantive conversation. I'm now convinced she has what it takes! And you wonder why the press isn't allowed to see her in action.