The Blog @ Spolitics

New Bogus Press Narrative: Palin Won’t Answer Questions

by Heywood U. Reedmore -- September 5, 2008 at 1:18 pm | In 2008 Election | No Comments

Now that Palin has shown them up on the national stage, the press has gone from insisting she doesn’t have the experience to be Vice President, to whining that the McCain camp won’t let them interview her — presumably so they can prove she doesn’t have enough experience.

Shep Smith complained about her unavailability on Fox News and it’s a complaint we can expect to hear often. Even when she begins doing interviews, they’ll say she’s not doing enough, or more to the point, not doing interviews with them.

Some on the right have argued that this further proves their animus toward Palin. But this isn’t about their politics. This is about their careers.

Palin is a newborn star. That makes her the biggest “get” there is right now. I don’t believe, in this instance, that we’re seeing the press try to define Palin in negative terms to help Obama. Here, we’re seeing that same petty, self-centered, “I’m entitled” attitude the national media displayed when the story broke about Cheney’s hunting accident and it broke without them.

The press feels left out and their criticisms are tantamount to a temper tantrum. They’re trying to put pressure on the McCain camp to start making her available because each reporter out there has an editor yelling at them to get an interview with her. Their stature as journalists rests on their ability to deliver and they’re feeling the heat.

Of course, if we were a few weeks into her candidacy, their complaints about a lack of access to Palin would be a valid point. But considering they started complaining about her unavailability just days after she was added to the ticket — in the middle of the convention — this is more about their own insecurities and their own rabid ambitions.

The demand for a Palin interview is extremely high and the McCain camp should be careful here. There’s no reason to suspect that Palin can’t handle Brokaw, Stephanapolous, or Wallace. I’m sure she’ll do fine. The danger is that she’ll become too overexposed and Americans will start to tire of her.

No matter how much the press whines and stomps their feet, the McCain camp would be wise to roll her out slowly — enough to feed the appetite with out choking the American people.

Update: The McCain camp’s Rick Davis talks about this issue on Morning Joe. The discussion about the feeding frenzy on Palin starts at about 2:45. Note also that at about 9:05 Mika offers a full hour to Palin in order to get an interview. It’s about the get.