It seems that, instead of placing the blame on the media where it belongs for its mistreatment of McCain and its sycophancy for Obama, Bloomberg seems to suggest that it is the fault of McCain's new campaign manager who, Bloomberg gravely tells us, was "close to Karl Rove."
Some of the campaign's new approach may coincide with the bigger role taken by (Steve) Schmidt, who was close to Karl Rove, a former campaign manager and White House aide to President George W. Bush, known for keeping a tight grip on press access to his boss.
Sorry, but it wasn't Steve Schmidt's fault that Time Magazine has had Obama on its cover 7 times in a year while only giving McCain that benefit twice during the same time period! Nor was it Steve Schmidt that just called VP pick and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin "like Caligula," well known as one of the most debauched and mentally ill of Rome's ancient emperors. Nor was it Schmidt that has indulged in the lowest sort of glee at raking over the media coals the life of a teenaged girl and a Down Syndrome baby.
Naturally, Bloomberg doesn't present any exact statement by the McCain camp or McCain himself stating directly that the "longtime love affair" is over. But we do get another spurious interview by an "expert" that Bloomberg happened to dredge up to add some useless and meaningless points to the story.
"There are a lot of people who don't like the press anymore and think they're out of control; attacking the messenger isn't a terrible political strategy," said Darrell West, a scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington who has written several books on the mass media.
Don't "like" the press "anymore"? So, this "expert" is claiming it is merely a "political strategy"? There is an apologist, eh? The media had no hand in McCain’s new attitude?
I'm not sure he realized it, but this so-called expert made an admission of the bias and vindictiveness of the press, though.
Yet, it may also have pitfalls. `"You still need the press to get your message out and if you have an antagonistic relationship it can blow up in your face," West said.
Yeah, "pitfalls" like the press will unfairly turn on you! He just admitted that the press is not unbiased, but are vindictive and mean spirited. Of course, this is already well known!
In any case, the story does lay out some of McCain's more recent examples of pique directed at his once loving press corps. McCain used to jokingly call the press his "base." Perhaps he's finally realized that they were lying to him the whole time!
I won't say I told you so Senator.
OK, yes I will.
(Photo credit: The New York observer)
