Orlando TV Station Punished for Joe Biden Interview
Tough Questions Lead to Cut Off of Access by Obama Campaign
It started when WFTV's Barbara West, a former assistent to Peter Jennings, asked Senator Joe Biden whether, in fact, Barack Obama's promise to "spread the wealth" was Marxist.
"Are you joking?" asked the candidate, Joe Biden.
"No," Barbara West responded.
Joe Biden then denied that Barack Obama is, in fact, proposing to, "Spread the wealth."
Barbara West then asked Joe Biden about his comment that a President Barack Obama would be "tested" by foreign enemies. Joe Biden openly wondered who was writing such questions and then attacked Bush Administration foreign policy and boasted about how Obama foreign policy would be so much better.
Presidential campaigns like to be interviewed by local TV and newspaper reporters because they are more prone to ask softball questions than the national media. One suspects that the Obama Campaign was surprised that Barbara West had the temerity to ask very hard, probing questions in the Joe Biden interview. This is not the sort of thing that was supposed to happen.
The Obama Campaign's reaction was swift and merciless. A follow up interview with Joe Biden's wife Jill was abruptly cancelled. Then Laura K McGinnis, Central Florida communications director for the Obama campaign, issued the following decree:
"This cancellation is non-negotiable, and further opportunities for your station to interview with this campaign are unlikely, at best for the duration of the remaining days until the election."
The interesting thing is that Joe Biden did not embarrass himself, too much, during the interview. He had his talking points down and was only a little off putting when he expressed astonishment at some of the questions, as if to say, "How dare you ask such hard questions of me?"
The swift and harsh punishment of WFTV-Channel 9 suggests that an Obama Administration would be keener, probably more than any other Presidency since that of Richard Nixon, to manage the news and to punish reporters and news organizations it doesn't like. The jokes are already flying fast that Barack Obama and his people would meet with terrorist dictators without preconditions, but not with uppity local news anchors if they dare to ask tough questions.
Fortunately WFTV-Channel 9's news director, Bob Jordan, was defiant. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Jordan said "Mr. Biden didn't like the questions. We choose not to ask softball questions."
Good for him.
Sources: Comedy gold: WFTV interviews Biden, Allahpundit, Hotair.com, October 25th, 2008
Obama campaign cuts off WFTV after interview with Joe Biden, Hal Boedeker, Orlando Sentinel, October 24th, 2008
Published by Mark Whittington
Mark R. Whittington is a writer residing in Houston, Texas. He is the author of The Last Moonwalker, Children of Apollo, Dark Sanction, and Nocturne. He has written numerous articles, some for the Washington... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentWow Mark, you have pissed off the liberals. It's kind of funny, you tell a straight news story and they get mad. But then, I guess they take their cue from their candidate. He shuts off communication with news stations,and allows a simple plumber to be harassed for asking a question. Great guy that Obama. If he wins will we change the name of the US to Barakastan? Probably.
Are you a Moron? Nothing you said is based on reality. Maybe you should learn to read instead of just watching FOX News all day. They're brainwashing you.
God Bless America if people like you elect the next president, because you, truly, don't have a clue. Go back to 3rd grade and finish your education!!
Ms. West's question mentioning "Marxism" is way over the line in that it connotes communism, both very loaded terms that are abhorrent to most Americans. Obama's tax proposals all refer to the time-honored practice of progressive taxation, not communism. All the right wingers who think this was just a tough but fair question should ask themselves how they would feel if McCain were confronted with a question that alluded to the increasing disparity between the wealthy and the middle class with the hypothesis that it is an indicator that we are on the road to fascism. People on the right do not want to hear the term "fascism" in any question posed at them and, appropriately enough, those on the left abhor the careless use of terms such as "Marxism" or "communism".
If he did pay ACORN he has no control over the people that were not honest. Let's get off the petty stuff and look at what is benificial for the country. It is time the average person is able to work and have a little bit extra at the end of a pay period and not have to worry about how to make it to pay day. By the way the average person can not spend 150000 on campain clothing.
Get your facts straight, unless you make over 250000 a year you have nothing to worry about. And drug dealers and drug addicts do not pay taxes and get no tax payer money. Also if you are confident about the next four years. Put Mccain in office, you knew Bush was doing a bad job when you gave him the last four years. Let's give someone else a chance to provide change. Is it because of his color. If that is off putting maybe you need to remember his mother is caucasion. He is a well rounded person, the exact kind of leader we need at this time.
The Republicans spread the wealth too and they don't hold down the spending. The trick is they don't count the money spent via cuts in government income (i.e. tax cuts and tax incentives.) Tax incentives actually take our hard earned money and use it to benefit some remote corporation we never heard of and don't care about. That is redistribution. The most annoying form of redistribution is the government using our hard earned money to finance incentives for companies to abandon the US worker and move overseas. Talk about redistribution of wealth -- that is the absolute worst and it is also proof that the Republicans really don't care about Main St. I think they could not care less!
Oh, this really is news. A reporter asking stupid questions? Would this same reporter ask our current president if he is just plain dumb? Hmm, let me see. Marx did in fact write about wealth redistribution, Thomas Jefferson also had some similar thoughts regarding corporations and banks and redistribution of power as a matter of fact he once said:
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies . . . If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] . . . will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered . . . The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs." -- Thomas Jefferson -- The Debate Over The Recharter Of The Bank Bill, (1809)
I think this reporter means well u
Interestingly, he denied the campaign paid ACORN money for get out the vote, but they did, about 800K (to a subsidiary) listed first as staging, and amended in the report when people noticed. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/election/s_584284.html