Barack Obama’s “Fake Interviews”

Posted on July 22, 2008
Filed Under Journalism, News, commentary |

Is this what Barack Obama means when he says he is THE candidate of change: staging apparently fake interviews with non-reporters while overseas?

That seems to be the assessment of NBC’s Andrea Mitchell who blew the whistle on the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate’s “performances” while in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Appearing on Chris  Matthew’s MSNBC program, Mitchell lashed out at Obama’s media management.

“He didn’t have reporters with him; he didn’t have a press pool; he didn’t do a press conference while he was on the ground in either Afghanistan of Iraq,” Mitchell said. “What you’re seeing is not reporters brought in–You’re seeing selected pictures taken by the military, questions by the military, and what some would call fake interviews, because they’re not interviews from a journalist. So, there’s a real press issue here. Politically it’s smart as can be. But we’ve not seen a presidential candidate do this, in my recollection, ever before.”

Pretty strong stuff

That’s a pretty tough take from the veteran news reporter. And it raises many questions about what exactly Obama is up to?  After eight years of Bush media manipulation, are we about to elect a man president who may actually do the Bush White House one better in that department?

Obviously, Obama wants to project an image of leadership while overseas–it’s the “experience” issue–but this is NOT the way to do it.

More reporters need to be like Mitchell and blow the whistle on such behavior; they need to start doing their real jobs–reporting the news–and stop trying to get Barack Obama elected president no matter what!

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