Some said it was too good to last and some were right. It seems that Obama’s love affair with the US media is over just proving that if you’ve got the media on your side, it won’t necessarily stay that way as The Bulletin points out.
It had been 10 days, an eternity on the election calendar, since Barack Obama held a press availability session with reporters traveling alongside him on the campaign trail. In the 10 days that passed, the Colombia Free Trade bill died, the price of oil continued to skyrocket, and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter met with Hamas.
With a number of key questions piling up, one NBC off-air reporter decided to approach the Illinois senator as he was having breakfast with Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. at a Scranton eatery and ask a question. As Mr. Obama sat in Glider Diner, the reporter sought a comment from him over Mr. Carter’s meeting with Hamas.
“Why can’t I just eat my waffle?” Mr. Obama retorted. The response ignited a firestorm of criticism and once again placed the presidential candidate under the microscope of the growing love/hate relationship he has with the press.
Mr. Obama ended his media exile yesterday, taking questions from the press after he finished pancakes at a diner outside Pittsburgh. Initially shrugging off the waffle comment, Mr. Obama took questions concerning his prospects for a Pennsylvania victory.
“I always think we have a chance,” Mr. Obama stated.
But as the Democratic primary moves to North Carolina and Indiana – and as Mr. Obama fights back claims he is inexperienced and unschooled on the key issues of the day, arguments that are central to Hillary Clinton’s campaign strategy to woo superdelegates to her corner – the recent dust-up with the media highlights a growing trend in which the Illinois senator is floundering under the intense light of the media.
“The honeymoon is over,” stated Charles Dunn, Dean of Regent University’s School of Government, referring to the infatuation the media had with Mr. Obama earlier in the year. “There comes a point when ever candidate is placed under the microscope and [Mr. Obama] has reached that point.”
After a spoof on “Saturday Night Live” poked fun at the media’ fawning over Mr. Obama, the press began to turn up the heat on the Illinois senator. One key event was a meeting one top Obama economic advisor had with Canadian officials, seeking to reassure Canada that the rhetoric Mr. Obama directed toward NAFTA in an Ohio debate was not policy but just politics.
“There is no doubt Barack Obama is one of the greatest speakers of our day, but when he is put in a one-on-one situation, like in a debate or an encounter with a reporter, he is clearly not comfortable,” stated Dr. Dunn. “And his people have not prepared him for this scrutiny… they thought they had a long-standing love affair with the press.”
Dr. Dunn believes, however, if Mr. Obama continues to remain removed from the press he destroys his credibility.
“Reporters will give you a fair shake, but when you try and hide something or remain distant, they will go after you,” said Dr. Dunn. Reporters, however, were not the only ones disturbed by Mr. Obama’s media aloofness.
“Barack Obama just wants to eat his waffle but the American people are anxious to hear straight answers from him about the issues Americans are facing and the direction he plans to lead the country,” stated Blair Latoff, Spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee. Some Republicans argued his decision to dodge the Carter issue as well as the media plays into Mrs. Clinton’s hand.
“If he can’t opine on something as obvious as Jimmy Carter meeting with Hamas, what will he opine on?” asked former Colorado Congressman Bob Beauprez.
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