McStraight talk's aides won't be questioned by critical reporters

Source: Raw Story

McCain's campaign seems to be keeping a much tighter yoke on its daily press calls. David Corn, a Mother Jones correspondent and frequent antagonizer to Hillary Clinton's advisers, outlines the evidence that McCain's team takes conference call questions only from friendly reporters.

When a reporter calls in for a conference call, he or she is asked by an operator to provide his or her name and media outlet. Then when it comes time for questions, there is a long pause--long enough for someone in the campaign to select whom should be called on. This has caused several journalists who have participated in these calls to wonder: is the McCain campaign screening reporters, and, if so, on what basis? A reporter for a progressive media outlet says that he has tried at least half a dozen times to ask a question on a McCain conference call and has had never been selected.The same has happened to me.

No matter how quickly I press *1, I'm never afforded the opportunity to pose a question. During a June 27 McCain campaign call with former Republican Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift (who was deriding Obama for holding a unity rally with Hillary Clinton at Unity, New Hampshire), I raised my hand, electronically. Two reporters were called on--one from AOL News, the other from the Tampa Tribune--and then the McCain aide hosting the call said, "Seems we are out of questions," and ended the call. My hand was still up.The easy suspicion is that McCain aides are playing favorites and are not as enthusiastic about confronting tough questions as their boss. During a July 1 McCain campaign call featuring Senator Lindsey Graham and Orson Swindle (who was a Vietnam POW with McCain), only two questions were taken--both from conservative bloggers....

At least Corn has the opportunity to listen in fruitlessly. On at least a half-dozen occassions over the last several months including again on Tuesday, RAW STORY has requested to be included on McCain's press distribution list, only to be ignored on every occassion.