MoDo banned from McCain plane; we're oddly torn
October 01, 2008 10:23 am ET by Eric Boehlert
Of course we don't like the idea of any campaign "banning" a journalist because the candidate doesn't like what was written or said about them. That's petty and wrong and disrespectful toward journalism.
And that's exactly what the McCain campaign was guilty of when it recently banned NYTimes columnist Maureen Dowd from the candidate's traveling press plane.
But it was Dowd's comment after the banishment that gave us pause: "It was disappointing because I didn't think John McCain would ever be as dismissive of the First Amendment as Dick Cheney."
We're torn because we can't think of a single elite columnist who we'd rather not have invoking the solemn rights of the Constitution in a press fight, simply because we don't think Dowd is a serious journalist. So we're not comfortable with her representing any sort of professional journalism community.
In fact, we're in heated agreement with Firedoglake commenter "JoeBuck":
McCain and his people are jerks, of course, but Dowd reveals what a total waste of column inches she is by her remark. Bumping her from the campaign plane because the campaign doesn't like something she wrote is juvenile and mean-spirited, but the First Amendment doesn't guarantee MoDo a plane ride. She has a prize position on the NY Times Op-ed page, and she basically puts out a high school gossip column, full of petty name-calling.
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This is an issue for the NYTimes. They should have seats on the plane and should be objecting if the campaign is dictating who can use them.
If the campaign says no to a particular reporter, they should remove their reporters from the plane.
I just remember that Knight Ridder (now McClatchy) did the best coverage of the administration and the Iraq invasion because they had no access.
I think we'd be better served if news organizations kept their reporters and columnists from getting too close to politicians. One-on-one interviews, sure, but, group hugs on the back of the plane? Bad stuff.
Maybe MoDo would have to learn to think if she had to sit in the audience like everyone else.
I would think that journalists, like security analysts, should assume the worst of risks facing the nation.
For example, if Israel will not discuss whether or not it has WMD, then analysts assume the worst, and print it - without bias. And that is the correct thing to happen. We simply have to prepare for the worst, based on what we know.
Same goes for the McCain campaign - if they don't want to talk about their plan to destroy America, then we have to assume that it exists, and we should print it - without bias.
That they don't want to talk about exactly how they'll dismantle what is left of civil society should be no surprise.
Nor should it be a surprise that the NYT will start covering McCain more favorably in the next few weeks. Money matters.
p.s. call your senator and congressman and oppose the giveaway to the rich. finally, an issue all americans, regardless of how racist or not, can agree upon.