McCain to Politico: "Excuse me, you're bothering me".
There was a time when McCain could do no wrong in the eyes of the press and vice versa. Then he stopped the Straight Talk Express and almost stopped giving press conferences altogether and his relationship with them began to erode.
According to this exchange with Politico, it's now turned darned frosty.
Oh dear, I don't think that's the way to win them around again.We just followed McCain down the steps following the vote to ask him about the reaction of House Republicans to the vote.
He didn't appreciate the company.
McCain: "Excuse me, you're bothering me."
Politico: "I'm bothering you?"
McCain: "Excuse me, I have to go."
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4 comments:
Yes, this is McCain's new war against the media.
The idea is that Americans are unified in their hated and distrust of the "liberal media", and by confronting journalists McCain can score points. He has abandoned the idea of "bringing them around again", and is instead demanding "deference" from them as he did with Palin.
This is another example of Republicans thinking that what works on the "base" will resonate with voters in general. Without the media supporting him, his cause is hopeless.
Todd,
If he is going to conduct his entire campaign on what pleases his base then he is truly buggered.
Kel wrote:
If he is going to conduct his entire campaign on what pleases his base then he is truly buggered.
Well, he is. It's another one of his "gambles". He is going hard for the base while hoping that his "maverick" line will bring around the independents and moderates.
The problem is that the independents and moderates don't believe his "maverick" assertions, and that his "maverick-ness" undermines his support from the base. The base still believes in Bush and the neo-con vision, and the more he tries to move away from Bush, the more he makes the base distrust him.
So he has his war against the "liberal media" and his 'new' smear campaign to keep the base happy.
The man walks a tightrope between his base and the rest of the electorate. Lately, however, he seems to be ceding the rest of the electorate away in hopes that the smears will create enough doubt in their minds to at least keep them away from the polls.
In a "base" election, McCain will lose. In fact, he was selected as the nominee precisely to avoid a "base" election. He was the weakest candidate to appeal to the base, but the plan was that his "maverick" reputation would bring in enough voters outside the base to win. So he was picked over the other candidates that represented the various core constituencies of the base.
So now he is, as you put it, "truly buggered". His only option is to take desperate risks at long-shot odds. And each time he loses these gambles, it makes an even more desperate gamble the only option.
God knows where he's going to end up before the end of this election. Apparently he plans to start that fight back at tomorrow's debate. That'll be nice. Give him the chance to alienate a few more women and independents.
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