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BHO and "Fake" Interviews?

Mike

Well-known member
Andrea on Obama Trip: 'What Some Would Call Fake Interviews'
By Mark Finkelstein (Bio | Archive)
July 21, 2008 - 20:00 ET

Andrea Mitchell might be a doyenne of the liberal media, but she has her reporter's pride and principles, both of which have been trampled by the way the Obama campaign has managed the media during the candidate's current trip to Afghanistan and Iraq. Mitchell let loose on this evening's Hardball, speaking of "fake interviews" and indicating we don't know the truth of the trip because we don't know what was edited out of the video that's been released.

Before Mitchell made her displeasure known, Roger Simon of Politico, Chris Matthews's other guest during the segment, depicted the images coming out of the war zone as all Obama could have dreamed of.



ROGER SIMON: The optics are all very good on this trip. I mean, the beginning of this trip is so good, Senator Obama might just want to call off the end and just keep running the videotape. He goes into a gym, everybody, all the service people there cheer. He shoots a basket, you know, it goes through the hoop. He's obviously standing there with troops, they seem to be liking him, smiling. They don't seem to feel that Barack Obama wants to desert them, to leave them in Iraq. This is exactly what the Obama campaign hoped for, and this was supposed to be the tough part of the trip. The meatiest part of the trip in Jordan and Israel may be tough in terms of foreign policy, but the back end of the trip to cheering European crowds will certainly be as good if not better than this. So I think he's feeling very good right now.

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Andrea, I want to get ethnic a little bit here --

ANDREA MITCHELL: This is message --

MATTHEWS: Yeah, go ahead, please.

MITCHELL: Let me just say something about the message management. He didn't have reporters with him, he didn't have a press pool, he didn't do a press conference while he was on the ground in either Afghanistan or Iraq. What you're seeing is not reporters brought in. You're seeing selected pictures taken by the military, questions by the military, and what some would call fake interviews, because they're not interviews from a journalist. So, there's a real press issue here. Politically it's smart as can be. But we've not seen a presidential candidate do this, in my recollection, ever before.

When Matthews inquired about the atmospherics of the trip, Mitchell made clear her frustration as a reporter.

MATTHEWS: Let me ask you about access to the troops, Andrea. A lot of African-American faces over there, very happy, delighted faces. Is that a representation of the percentage of servicepeople who are African-American, or did they all choose to join someone they like, apparently? What's the story?

MITCHELL: I can't really say that. Being a reporter who was not present in any of those situations, I just cannot report on what was edited out, what was, you know, on the sidelines. That's my issue. We don't know what we are seeing.

Good on Andrea. Now, will the rest of the MSM press the Obama campaign to release the outtakes from the war zone?
 

fff

Well-known member
Sure, I'll respond. The traditional media is having a hard time getting used to the idea that the Obama camp isn't catering to them. Just because there wasn't a reporter on hand to bless it doesn't mean he didn't bond with those soliders on the basketball court. This trip is a fact gathering trip, not enertainment for the media. He's done lots of interviews, but is able to get a lot of stuff out via the internet and he's got a ton of money to put out political ads. The mainstream media isn't as important as it used to be and it's kinda hard on those reporters.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Doesn't matter if your McSame, King George, Obama, or whoever- thats normal practice when in the military areas...The general press doesn't get free run- the military press takes over- and they release what they want to be released...Its a military/security issue....

Remember Geraldo- when he went around the militaries press rules- and released items without the military first approving them-- He got his butt booted right out of Iraq....
 

kolanuraven

Well-known member
Those old cronies of the media are just pizzed cause they're not getting toted around and fed on the tax payers dime is all.
 
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