AP Turns Against McCain

[ProSense]

Farewell to Tire Swings?

From the AP on Palin's interview ...

John McCain running mate Sarah Palin sought Thursday to defend her qualifications but struggled with foreign policy, unable to describe President Bush's doctrine of pre-emptive strikes against threatening nations and acknowledging she's never met a foreign head of state.
The Republican vice presidential nominee told Charles Gibson of ABC News in her first televised interview since being named to the GOP ticket that "I'm ready" to be president if called upon. However, she sidestepped on whether she had the national security credentials needed to be commander in chief.

A second AP article lede ...

The "Straight Talk Express" has detoured into doublespeak.
Republican presidential nominee John McCain, a self-proclaimed tell-it-like-it-is maverick, keeps saying his running mate, Sarah Palin, killed the federally funded Bridge to Nowhere when, in fact, she pulled her support only after the project became a political embarrassment. He accuses Democrat Barack Obama of calling Palin a pig, which did not happen. He says Obama would raise nearly everyone's taxes, when independent groups say 80 percent of families would get tax cuts instead.

Even in a political culture accustomed to truth-stretching, McCain's skirting of facts has stood out this week. It has infuriated and flustered Obama's campaign, and campaign pros are watching to see how much voters disregard news reports noting factual holes in the claims.

AP Turns Against McCain

By Eric Kleefeld - September 11, 2008, 10:30PM
It looks like the Associated Press, which has generally had a serious pro-McCain and anti-Obama slant this cycle, has turned on their former hero McCain in the face of mounting evidence that he's a shameless liar running a dirty campaign.

I was looking through TPM's AP wire feed tonight, and here are just three stories I found:

Analysis: McCain's Claims Skirt Facts, Test Voters

Palin Tries To Defend Qualifications In Interview

Palin's Town Billed Rape Victims To Get Evidence

As a special bonus, here's the lead sentence from the analysis piece: "The 'Straight Talk Express' has detoured into doublespeak."

Et tu, Fournier?

[DJ13]

1. From what I read a few days back, McCain's campaign banned the AP

....from riding on the bus, or interviewing either candidate.

Dont know why.

[Marsala]

9. Don't know why? After tonight, we sure do. n/t

[donna123]

2. I consider it them telling the truth

rather than turning on McCain
but why does everyone sparse words?

THEY LIE
LIE LIE LIE
that's what the cheney-bush-rove republican party that mccain has sold his soul to in order to become prez which he wants more than anything else in the world, damn honor, dignity, being able to live with oneself does!

It isn't just doublespeak or truth stretching, it is LIES
it drives me crazy that the media doesn't call shit for what it is
Why is saying they are lying something people are scared to do?
is it too inflammatory?

[codjh9]

3. Great! Let's just hope some of the dumb-asses out there actually READ any of that.

[jazzjunkysue]

4. The press is in mutiny about the Palin access blockade.

They've waited so long to start in on his running-mate. And now, they're turned away.

I think they're gonna skewer him for it. They're really pissed off. If they can't make the news the old way, they'll make it up, themselves.

[rbrnmw]

6. Make it Up??

They are not making anything up they are doing what they were always meant to do Report the Facts

[jazzjunkysue]

8. No- That's not what I meant. They're actually getting after her lies-

because they're so pissed.

And if she won't sit for any interviews, she deserves to have them report that she's an airhead scared no-brain. Since she is.

[flamingdem]

5. Well, well, well, somebody has pissed off AP bigtime

[xfundy]

7. This isn't "turning against."

This is reporting the TRUTH.

We'll see if they can keep it up.

Not holding my breath.

[Arkana]

10. Lies.

Soon Ron Fournier will drag his beaten body out of the sewer pipe he was left in and reassume control of the AP, and they'll become an obedient RW rag once again.

[anonymous171]

11. I agree. He's retreated ever since he printed that BS hit-job about Obama picking Biden

When he does come back, AP will go back to being pro-McCain.

[jillan]

12. We'll have to wait and see.

Oh boy do I hope it's true.

[jeff.marchiafava]

13. Turned against McCain?

... I don't know that telling the truth qualifies as turning against McCain ;)
...what I think is happening here is that McCain put out an absolute BLANKET of lies after picking Palin, about her record, and all the things that didn't come out when they vetted her. People have been asking about them, and digging up facts, and the AP isn't going to ignore them once they've been found. That's the news nowadays: you can't leave it up to "journalists" to find out any information for themselves. It's the bloggers, the advocates, and the everyday people who actually CARE about what's going on, who find out the truth, and bring it to the attention of people. Once people start reading about it they start asking questions, and THAT's when the AP kicks in. It's not the way it should work, but it still kinda works...

I bet it also doesn't help that McCain has become so tight-lipped, as others have said: he's started to do interviews like Bush now, i.e. selecting who and when, and just how long they ask questions for, and just not answering questions that he doesn't deal with. It's understandable, since he doesn't have a leg to stand on, but it's not going to make him any friends amongst reporters. That's why I think we all have to keep pressuring news agencies: make them ask the questions, show THEM the facts, and let them try and squeeze a response out of McCain. And if they can't... well, they're impressions of McCain aren't going to be favorable...

...on second thought maybe they are turning against him ;)