I suspect we will be seeing more articles like the one below in the coming months. Obama's people should be all over it by the end of June at the latest. My guess is that McCain's image as a independent won't really be that hard to dent, and he still won't excite the bedrock conservatives in the GOP.
McCain's 'free ride' in the media
Guest Opinion
by Jason Salzman
Democrats have been whining for years the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, gets favorable treatment from journalists.
They say McCain's reputation for being an independent-minded politician is a media construction, fueled by reporters who like McCain and are therefore willing to overlook flaws, gaffes, and inconsistencies which would sink the careers of other politicians.
Their evidence? First, they point out McCain's breaks with the Republican Party have been few and far between-in contrast to what his reputation would have you believe.
His critics say journalists jump all over a high-profile McCain defection from the Republican Party, on an issue like campaign finance reform.
But when they report such a defection, they rarely point out he has also achieved high rankings throughout his career by organizations like the American Conservative Union. The Christian Coalition of America gave him an 83 percent ranking in 2007, for example.
Critics also claim McCain's scandals, most notably his support of corrupt businessmen during the savings and loan crisis, are mentioned far less frequently by reporters than the high notes of his career, like his brave service in Vietnam.
McCain's flip-flops, as evidenced for example in his 180-degree change of heart on President Bush's tax cuts, don't get the same coverage as his "independent" positions, critics say.
Other examples of issues on which McCain's position has seriously changed as he's campaigned for the Republican nomination include gay marriage, ethanol subsidies, and abortion rights.
None of these arguments, and others like them, are new. And they certainly add up to a persuasive case McCain isn't the "maverick" he presents himself as.
But are journalists really responsible for the widespread perception McCain is a maverick?
A new book, "Free Ride: John McCain and the Media," convinced me journalistic failures have indeed fueled serious misconceptions.
The book reviews McCain's consistent conservative record, which won't surprise anyone who's followed him over the years. Neither will the compilation of astonishing quotes by journalists praising his authenticity.
But where the book breaks new ground is illuminating in detail what reporters from McCain's home state of Arizona think about him.
Their experience, chronicled in the Free Ride, provides convincing evidence national journalists have been too kind.
"The mutual affection that characterizes (McCain's) relationship with Washington-based reporters could hardly be more different than the testy relationship he has developed with journalists from his home state," write Free Ride authors David Brock and Paul Waldman.
The authors quote E.J. Montini, an Arizona Republic columnist, who says Arizona journalists like him were once as impressed with McCain as national reporters seem to be today, but over many years of seeing him operate admiration faded.
During the 2000 presidential primaries, about the same time when reporters were filing glowing profiles of McCain's frankness and conviviality aboard the "Straight-Talk Express," Montini says McCain's campaign staff told an Atlanta journalist "not to talk to reporters in Arizona, not if he wanted to get to know the real McCain."
Brock and Waldman quote the former publisher and editor of the Arizona Republic, who says McCain "cannot endure criticism," "controls by fear," and is "consumed by self-importance."
The book argues accounts of McCain detailing his short temper, foul mouth, and bullying and unscrupulous behavior are more common in the Arizona press than in national media outlets.
If this is true, and Free Ride makes a good case for it, then you have to wonder why national media outlets haven't written more about the dark side of Sen. John McCain and whether they are responsible for the myth he's a maverick.
Jason Salzman is the author of Making the News: A Guide for Nonprofits and Activists, and board chair of Rocky Mountain Media Watch, a Denver-based media watchdog organization. Column distributed by MinutemanMedia.org.
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