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Bully Pulpit

The term "bully pulpit" stems from President Theodore Roosevelt's reference to the White House as a "bully pulpit," meaning a terrific platform from which to persuasively advocate an agenda. Roosevelt often used the word "bully" as an adjective meaning superb/wonderful. The Bully Pulpit features news, reasoned discourse, opinion and some humor.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Press Section of Biden's Plane Is 'Totally Deserted'

(By Jim Geraghty, National Review Online) - This is pretty stunning, and I think the Obama campaign might even have a legitimate gripe with the national press:

Since the Delaware senator left Obama's side and ventured out on his own on Labor Day, he has hardly garnered any national media interest at all.

His plane, a blue chartered 737, now crosses the country with about three-quarters of its seats empty, rows and rows with nary a warm body to be found.

Biden's supporters maintain that he is connecting with voters and garnering positive media interest on a local level. They also say that Biden is a "governing" pick, not a "political" pick, unlike Palin. That is, Biden will actually be able to help Obama govern; he's not just a cynical selection to help his boss win the election.

Either way, as Air Joe flew from Wilmington to Charlotte Sunday, the only reporters onboard were off-air reporters from the five television networks and correspondents from NBC and Politico. There was only one camera crew. The back of the plane, reserved for press, sat totally deserted.

The New York Times? Gone. The Washington Post? Not seen since the first days of September. The otherwise ubiquitous Associated Press? Left even before that.

Heck, the McCain camp might find this worth complaining about - think of all the gaffes being missed by the major press.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

From National Review Online:

I really wish the press held Obama just a bit more accountable for this "governing pick" thing like, say, 1/100th as much as they've been grilling McCain about his pick. Just a few facts:

• Obama justified his entire bid against Hillary Clinton on the grounds that he had shown superior judgment by opposing the Iraq war.

• Obama said over and over that we can't have the same people in different chairs if we want real reform.

• His ad mocking McCain makes much hay of the fact that McCain came to Washington in 1982.

Well: Biden supported the Iraq war, he's even more of Washington insider than McCain (his heroic Amtrak commute notwithstanding) and he was well into his second six year term in the Senate when McCain was first elected to the House in 1982. Now either Obama's campaign rhetoric is a lie, or Biden isn't a good governing pick by Obama's own standards.

Monday, September 15, 2008 1:59:00 PM  

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