Next Week: The Overseas Obama Extravaganza
| Fri Jul. 18, 2008 8:28 AM PDT
Get read for all Obama, all the time.
The three network anchors will travel to Europe and the Middle East next week for Barack Obama's trip, adding their high-wattage spotlight to what is already shaping up as a major media extravaganza.
Lured by an offer of interviews with the Democratic presidential candidate, Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric will make the overseas trek, meaning that the NBC, ABC and CBS evening newscasts will originate from stops along the route and undoubtedly give it big play.
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John McCain has taken three foreign trips in the past four months, all unaccompanied by a single network anchor... Some 200 journalists have asked to accompany Obama on the costly trip, which will include stops in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the campaign will be able to accommodate only one-fifth that number.
There are rumblings among the punditry (see MSNBC's First Read, for example) that Obama is risking the appearance of arrogance: the tour through Europe feels like a victory tour and the visits with Iraqi and Afghani leaders in front of thousands of cameras seem to ignore the fact that Obama doesn't have much of a record here — he has only been to Iraq once before, and he has never visited Afghanistan. The right is already using this line against him. Charles Krauthammer today: "The Audacity of Vanity."
I'm of the mind that if Obama can appear cool, comfortable, and presidential in a foreign environment, it will underscore his capability at a moment where there are doubts about McCain's. While no one is going to believe that Obama has impeccable foreign policy credentials because he makes one overseas trip, it may emphasize his competence.
As for the McCain campaign, it knows it's in a tough spot next week. NBC News is reporting that McCain's advisers acknowledge they may have to "fight for scraps that fall off the table" when it comes to media coverage. Considering how things have been going lately, keeping McCzechoslovakia out of the spotlight might be a good thing.
Comments
How about focusing on who has the experience, judgement and character to protect us and bring prosperity to Americans ? not someone who in the eleventh hour, finally tries to establish foreign policy credentials, in a one week visit, as a transparent political ploy to get himself elected. Where was Obama, when he was supposed to chair the congressional committee on Afghanistan, and never had a single meeting. Why did Obama vote 'present' over 100 times in the senate? Even if he stages a political rally in the Roman Coliseum, he's still just an inexperienced politician, who is not qualified to be President of the United States of America !!!
How about focusing on who has the experience, judgement and character to protect us and bring prosperity to Americans ? not someone who in the eleventh hour, finally tries to establish foreign policy credentials, in a one week visit, as a transparent political ploy to get himself elected. Where was Obama, when he was supposed to chair the congressional committee on Afghanistan, and never had a single meeting. Why did Obama vote 'present' over 100 times in the senate? Even if he stages a political rally in the Roman Coliseum, he's still just an inexperienced politician, who is not qualified to be President of the United States of America !!!
I have been noticing EXTREME MEDIA BIAS in favor of Obama. In addition to the recent analysis which shows that Obama has enjoyed over twice the news coverage as McCain, cable stations and websites like CNN are producing television specials like "Black In America", which I'm sure will air over and over ad nauseam, as a disguised P.R. promotion for Obama. CNN also shows extreme bias with the way they moderate their blogs in favor of Obama supporters, which is tantamount to censorship. And, now the three network anchors will be traveling with Obama overseas. It doesn't get more blatant than that !!!
How about focusing on who has the experience, judgement and character to protect us and bring prosperity to Americans not someone who in the eleventh hour, finally tries to establish foreign policy credentials, in a one week visit, as a transparent political ploy to get himself elected. Where was Obama, when he was supposed to chair the congressional committee on Afghanistan, and never had a single meeting. Why did Obama vote 'present' over 100 times in the senate? Even if he stages a political rally in the Roman Coliseum, he's still just an inexperienced politician, who is not qualified to be President of the United States of America !!!
