The only thing, I can come up with is familiarity breeds contempt.

Just back off and let the man eat his waffle.

Didnt the press-exclusion strategy work for dubya?

Maybe spending every waking moment of the last six weeks talking to voters in Pennsylvania leaves zero additional energy for reporters.

OTOH, it never helps to be testy with the press, whether it's the bozos at the ABC debate or the guy interrupting your breakfast. You've got to wear their annoyances like a loose garment.

oh please -bittergate last week; wafflegate this week. Give the man a break.

At least he doesn't waffle as much as the other two running for POTUS.

"I realize now that it was wrong to vote down the MLK holiday."

"I was for NAFTA when Bill held the reigns, now I'm not sure I like it."

Whereas... I have always been against the debacle in the desert that's costing our country 1,000s of lives and 100s of billions of dollars.

Maybe the press wants to see if Obama has a temper. Then they can match it up with John and Hillary's.

I think he ought to be able to waffle in peace. Eat 'em that is.

Kevin: WTF? Why would you dignify this crap. Sometimes a waffle is, to paraphrase Freud, a fucking waffle.

This concern is silly. The Corporate Media, or as you call it, the MSM, has been corrupted for too long. Can they be trusted to ask honest questions on any issue? Can they be trusted to promote the free flow of information and ideas in a serious fashion? I don't think so.

During the last debate in Pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton made mention of applying the doctrine of Massive Retaliation to multiple states in the Middle East? She said an attack on states like Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and so forth would be treated as an attack on the US requiring "massive retaliation.

Why has there been no Corporate Media interest in this outlandish suggestion? Why has Carter's discussions with Hamas leaders drawn more attention than this statement?

It would seem to me that the reporters who interrupted Obama's breakfast to ask a question about Carter were simply up to no good. Otherwise they would be treating such issues as I mentioned above more seriously.

And thus begins non-stop 24/7 media coverage of wafflegate...

Maybe you're right Kevin. Since the media is going to fall over themselves backward kissing McLames sorry ass, it couldn't hurt Obama to cosy up and kiss some hiney too. There is no privacy. Everything you say in public can, and will, come back to haunt you.

Obama shuts out the national press. As the report goes on to mention, he gives the local press plenty of access.

This is because, frankly, the national press just doesn't matter that much. Any ill will you build up with the guy who covers you day in and day out can be repaired by appearing on 60 minutes or Good Morning America in person.

Barack Obama is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known. There is no reason why he should be afraid of the press. They are just there to provide heat in the kitchen. Let them man eat his damned waffles.

Maybe he didn't want to start a controversy because he prefers Mrs. Butterworth's to Aunt Jemima syrup.

Do you think Beaudrot actually believes that crap?

I wonder why we railed against the Mara Liasons and all the other national press reporters that journeyed with Bush....

Unworthy of a post, Kev. Besides, the plaintive remark could have been delivered playfully, or in some sendup of campaign exasperation. I would have liked to see and hear the exchange before characterizing it in any way.

if I had to talk to Jay Newton-Small, who is barely literate and a giggling idiot to boot, I would not only shut the press out, I'd have them doused in barbecue sauce and fed to the panthers at the zoo.

If I had to take a stab at answering this puzzler, I'd say the press has become, simply, irrelevent. Waffles never so! Sounds like another of Obama's positions I can agree with.

sometimes shutting them down for weeks at a time.

That's a bit of an overstatement. So for weeks at a time the press corp that travels WITH his campaign just follows him around without ever speaking to him and he never speaks to them?

No wonder Somerby gets so annoyed with you.

Before the MSM/corporate/whateveryouwanncallit press starts demanding respect, they need to start deserving respect.

As the Daily Show proves, night after night, they are largely a bunch of clowns of the sort who wouldn't understand that a busy man occasionally needs a bit of quality alone time with a syrup-and-butter soaked treat.

And sometimes the light goes on over our heads and we remember that a real president rarely if ever gets a chance to just eat his waffle because something important must be immediately dealt with.

I think he should provide open ended access with ground rules that say everything is off-record unless otherwise stated, a la McCain- but you would need to trusts the boo-weavils- maybe he should just deliver a dozen bagels to the hungry horde. I might add that interupting breakfast is rather rude.

The national press has spent the past month or more on a succession of meaningless GOP-inspired pseudo-gates, all intended to undermine his candidacy (rather than, say, report on it). Obama shows the patience of a saint in not ripping those toads to shreds. I don't think I could manage it.

*

If I was running for public office, I would shun the MSM asshats as well. The Obamas have given access to thoughtful news outlets, the rest of the media circus can go hang themselves if they want to do the world some good.

It's called changing the way we do politics. I just saw that clip on PBS NewsHour. He didn't snap at anybody. He just smiled and said I'm eating my waffle now. Not everything revolves around idiot reporters, especially dishonest ones.

This was clearly a campaign stop meant as a meet and greet with voters. He talked to several, chatted up a little boy who was freaked out by all the cameras. Ate his waffle, nice big close up on that, then he was up, said it as time to go, put on his jacket, rounded up the staffers and on to the next stop.

The more I think about this, the more I think this is the correct approach. You don't let the dog sit on the couch, and you don't let the press interupt you at random with random questions.

And if THEY can't stand the heat caused by rudeness, they could either get out of the kitchen or stop acting rudely. And, again, start asking REAL tough questions, not gossip posing as a tough question.

I'm curious as to what the Hamas question the reporter wants to ask is.

If the question concerns Jimmy Carter's recent trip to meet with Hamas leaders, it's legit. If it's about Hillary's allegation that the Rev. Wright printed something from someone from Hamas in the church bulletin years ago, Obama should just eat his waffle.

Oh, and Obama's facing Jon Stewart's questioning tonight, which is likely to be more intelligent, as well as more probing on real issues than anything the political reporters are likely to come up with.

Did this reporter ever ask GWB any questions about, say for the sake of argument, the number of Iraqis that have been killed by our adventure there?

Or McCain about why his wife's tax returns are not public, or why he committed adultery?

What a jerk.

So what? Maybe that's just Obama's style. Maybe he wants time to think. Maybe he wants to campaign by tightly controlling how he communicates to the press and the public instead of just blathering to them constantly. So long as he's not being secretive or controlling people's freedom of speech, it's hard to complain.

What struck me is how backward Jay Newton-Small gets it. It's Obama who has a right to eat in peace, not the press who have a right to bother him infinitely. There isn't a lot of context at all in this anecdote-- we have no idea at all just how annoying the reporter was being. Maybe Obama really wasn't getting a lot of rest, or a chance to enjoy his food without it getting cold.

i know it's a strange concept but reporters are human. like all humans, they're more likely to give you some benefit of the doubt if you do likewise. treat them with disdain and you lose it. yeah, there are risks to it, but barack is a big boy running for the biggest office in the country. if he can't take a little heat from reporters, what's he doing?

it's basic press relations 101.

We have to talk about waffles cause waffles are out there.

He's an introvert. It's no big deal, he's just likes dealing with people on his own terms. I mean, it's been a long time to go without press conferences, but for the most part, what I've heard is about him not going out and joshing with the journalists on the plane like McCain does and whatnot.

And just so no on thinks otherwise: Introversion doesn't mean scared of people or socially inept or anything like that. It's no impediment to a good presidency.

Maybe they could have asked some of those built-up questions during the debate last week. That would've helped all of our stomachs.

"The press has told us that McCain is the only candidate with the bad temper. The truth is that all three candidates, not excluding Ms.Clinton are capable of throwing temper tantrums."

That's true. Like that time that Obama said to Dana Priest, "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt."

Wait, actually, it was John McCain who said that. And he said it to his own wife.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/McCain_temper_boiled_over_in_92_0407.html

But Barrack did ask if he could eat his waffle, which is pretty much the same thing as calling your wife a cunt to her face.

So, yeah, I guess they do all have nasty tempers.

Patrick Meighan
Culver City, CA

> i know it's a strange concept but reporters are
> human. like all humans, they're more likely to
> give you some benefit of the doubt if you do
> likewise. treat them with disdain and you lose it.
> yeah, there are risks to it, but barack is a big
> boy running for the biggest office in the country.
> if he can't take a little heat from reporters,
> what's he doing?
>
> it's basic press relations 101.

It is pretty well known throughout Washington DC that Karl Rove spent six years doling out brutal punishment to 95% of all reporters. He might have played nice with the other 5%, but one would have to suspect that was simply to set up the rest for even more brutal punishment. Cheney, Bush, Snow, etc basically did/do the same. And they have been the most successful Administration at press manipulation since at least FDR and possibly in the history of the US. So that counterexample kind of blows your theory.

Yeah, maybe reporters do respond to positive reinforcement from the right person (Clinton, up to a point; McCain). But they absolutely lick the boots of every punishing father figure who takes a strap off the wall.

Cranky

Obama is a fine writer and orator, but he's relatively weak at speaking impromptu, so he plays to his strengths. McCain has opposite communication talents, so it's a nonstop bull session.

It is hard to tell whether Obama is actually an introvert. Most politicians are not. He is a hugely ambitious politician and, of course, he has achieved much success in areas where being an extrovert is an advantage: law school (including campaigning for head of the law review), "community organizing," and politics. He interacts quite well with crowds and does not seem worn out by 15 months of interacting with strangers.

In any event, he avoids the press because he is ahead, he is trying to avoid mistakes, he would have to face difficult questions, and he is not that good at answering questions. If he gets away with it, then shame on the press and us.

clueless drum thinking this is actually a big deal IS EXCELLENT NEWS!! FOR HILLARY!!!

Obama is a fine writer and orator, but he's relatively weak at speaking impromptu, so he plays to his strengths.

This is right. Obama has a touch of Foot-In-Mouth Disease, in case no one has noticed.

But I'm not crazy about the idea of shutting off press access. It becomes possible to create a highly artificial candidacy when spontaneity is removed from the calculus.

The other reason, of course, is that Obama has been running not so much on his biography as on the assumptions people make about him based on what little they know about his biography -- e.g., he has a black father and a white mother, ergo, he must feel equal loyalty to both races! He's the Tiger Woods of politics!

As the belated Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. controversy finally revealed, the truth about Obama is much different from his carefully crafted campaign image. So, you can imagine why he doesn't want to open himself up to in-depth questioning by well-informed reporters.

Perhaps it's because the press is doing such a shitty job.
Flag pins, pledge of allegiance, Muslim, crap.

I listened to Obama on NPR this PM. The man sounds exhausted.

I don't think it makes sense, Kevin. I'm baffled by it and the fact that progressives don't seem to see any danger. And I've been raising this issue at my blog for about a month. Because with McCain's history of unusually open, ask--me-anything access Obama will, I think, be at a distinct disadvantage in the press narrative if he cannot compete. Ryan Lizza in a lengthy New Yorker profile (Feb. 25, 2008): “It is bracing to drop in on the McCain campaign after covering the overly managed productions of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.�

Just for the record, folks, this post has nothing to do with Obama's waffle remark. That's there solely as background for Newton-Small's remark that Obama hasn't had a press avail for ten days.

I couldn't care less about this particular incident, but I do wonder why Obama apparently has a habit of shutting out the press for very long periods of time. Seems like a self-defeating strategy to me, but maybe Nick is right. Maybe it works fine and maybe the national press really doesn't matter much anymore. If that's the case, though, the blogosphere better find something else to write about. Why spend so much time complaining about the national press if they really don't matter these days?

Maye BhO doesn't want to be eating when they ask such inane questions for fear of gagging. The guy says he wants to ask about Hamas but he really wants to know why BhO didn't have his hand on his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance.
The millionaires do want to pin him down on the capital gains rate. That issue hits home.

Sounds like a Corporate Media Whore (TM) got what he deserved. And the point about him only communicating with local media is icing on the cake.

Obama just went up 10 points in my book. Give em hell Barack !

"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." - George Orwell

He sounds more and more human all the time. Not a campaign-droid.

Given the shit the press has happily peddled over the past 6 weeks, I can easily understand his attitude. I've come to think political reporters occupy a substrata of human existance.

Of course McSame gives the press complete access. All they do is pitch him softballs like "how are you?", and "would you like another donut?"

How much access would he grant if they kept asking "Did your first wife know you and Cindy were screwing?". "Are you kids still mad at you for having an affair behind their mother's back?" "How much money was involved in the Keating 5 deal?"

They'd be dumped by the roadside in no time flat.

I couldn't care less about this particular incident, but I do wonder why Obama apparently has a habit of shutting out the press for very long periods of time.

It's obvious; it's because he doesn't need them, they need him. Seriously, it's not as if they can just stop writing about him. So they have two choices, they can either a) explore, review, and report to the public various aspects of his background as a Harvard Law leader, a community organizer, a state legislator, a Senator, and statements made then straight through to today's 14 hours a day on the campaign trail that could help inform us as to what kind of presidency we might expect, or b) make up dramatic "issues" about what someone else said that he might have heard, or whether or not he displays a lapel pin as a means of determining whether or not we "ought" to vote for him.

Only someone predisposed to diminish his image and undermine his candidacy would take option b over option a, which is most of the national press, so why would he take away time from successfully connecting with actual voters and local reporters to allow people predisposed to undermine him whether he makes the appearance of cooperation or not to create fresh material directly off of him? If they can't find things HE'S previously said, with a background like his... F'em. Starve the beast.

Oh, and Kevin, please reread Cranky Observer above. It's funny 'cause it's true.

Maybe not. But, on the other hand, what makes the press think they merit continuous access? Are they really going to ask about Hamas? No. We saw from the debate they're still hung up on Wright and bitterness. I wouldn't talk to them either.

According to Drum, Obama made this comment in a "snapping" manner. I'll bet a stack of pancakes there was no "snap" in his demeanor at all. In other words, I suspect this is more media hyperventilation.

I'll take a side order of stupid with my waffles, please. Thanks for informing me of this important Presidential development, Kevin. Nice work!

message control...less likely to say something that the press will pick on if you don't talk to them

"Of course McSame gives the press complete access. All they do is pitch him softballs like "how are you?", and "would you like another donut?" How much access would he grant if they kept asking "Did your first wife know you and Cindy were screwing?". "Are you kids still mad at you for having an affair behind their mother's back?" "How much money was involved in the Keating 5 deal?" They'd be dumped by the roadside in no time flat.

Ditto if they asked him if he still professes to hates gooks, or how many additional times he has called his wife a cunt. Which, again, is almost exactly the same, temper-wise, as requesting a moment to eat one's waffle.

Patrick Meighan
Culver City, CA

Oh, and if they ask McCain if he agrees with one of his solicited endorsers, Pastor Hagee, that the Catholic Church is the Great Whore of Babylon and that Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for the sin and perdition that takes place there.

Those are a couple more yes-or-no questions that, as far as I know, the press pool hasn't asked McCain. But they went to his summer house and ate BBQ, so, y'know, they must be keeping a pretty close watch on the guy.

Patrick Meighan
Culver City, CA

Because if Obama gave them access, they would use it to spin BS about him. The Press protects McCain and claim it's for the incredible access, but if the Clintons demonstrated anything in the 90s by renewing the Independent Prosecutor statute, or Kerry calling on MoveOn to remove their accurate ads about Bush's war record so we could focus on the SBVs... what do you think they'd do if we played nice and took the high road this time?

Bush doesn't give interviews, either, and the Press doesn't complain, and he's rewarded for it. We'll get hit for it either way, so they might as well attack us without giving them any ammo.

What this waffle-eating episode really proves is that Obama is an out-of-touch elitist. Real Americans eat pancakes. Fuck waffles. I'll bet he drank some of that elitist OJ with his "waffles."

Cranky above nails it. Roping off the press has been the M.O. of every Republican president since Nixon and has breed an obedient press corp. Doesn't anybody remember Reagan, and Bush II in his good days, setting up staged events in front of staged audiences, and the cameras and reporters fenced off at the back. Access is everything, just ask Tim Russert. At first I thought Hillary had learned this lesson. Then I read an article somewhere describing her taking coffee and donuts out to the press to win their friendship and then getting only the cold sholder in return. McCain is a seperate story, and the press will have to be shamed into doing their jobs (ala the SNL skit), but giving the press more access isn't the path to victory. IMHO.

I'm interested in Mr. Newton-Small's use of language. "Holding avails"? How about "Holding presences"? "Holding levees"?

I believe I will avail myself of none of it. It would be bootless.

Is an "avail" as a noun some new use of the term that is completely new, completely "now"? Why must people invent such stupid jargon?

Maybe if he didn't want to be interupted, he should have ordered his breakfast in his room. He chose to be in public while eating his breakfast. That makes him fair game. Next time eat in the room, or be more polite. It is an election year BTW!

Tony

Patrick if they ask McCain if he agrees with one of his solicited endorsers, Pastor Hagee, that the Catholic Church is the Great Whore of Babylon and that Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for the sin and perdition that takes place there.

Actually,George Stephanopolous asked him about Hagee on Sunday and McCain said it was a mistake to seek out the endorsement.

Don't be baffled, K.D. His unwillingness to appear before the press is by design. He wants to keep his image intact. No embarrassing pauses filled with "...uhs...", no being backed into a corner, no misspeaking, no anything. Just the image of his uplifted head (and nose), narrowed eyes, giving the effect of one in deep, intelligent thought…Presidential… cool. Why give it all up in an awkward moment or two. He's in over his head and is frightfully well aware of it. He and Hillary can really be asked some tough, paint-yourself-in-a corner-if-you answer-wrong, questions. She's smooth under fire and gives intelligent, well thought out answers. He stumbles under pressure. He reminds me, in tactics only, of W (remember, huh, remember?) where it was and still is not in his best interest to answer questions.

Get your head back on right, K.D. This guy is nothing more than a Macy's model, who gives well-prepared speeches and nothing more. Then again, maybe you need to be baffled a bit in order to bring it all into perspective. This is important, Kevin. You hold sway over many people's political leanings. We can't chance putting our hopes, trust and security in a complete unknown and untested freshman. I mean I can't even envision the moment-to-moment, day-to-day pressure placed on the Presidency, and we are going to merely hand it to him based on his image or, a better word, mirage? Let's give BHO the opportunity to earn a few more stripes (and scars) before his acceptance of the reins from HRC after eight years of her leadership.

Well, this waffle incident will not be fully investigated until we find out if Obama had coffee with that waffle or if he insisted on orange juice again. Really, the fate of the nation is at stake.

You seriouly are wondering? C'mon. You are joking.

OK. I'll clue you in. The press are a bunch of mindless robots. He would rather talk to the american people.

Seems to be working.

for Newton-Small's remark that Obama hasn't had a press avail for ten days.

Didn't he do a 2 hr press availability last Wednesday?

You don't understand BO behavior... you haven't seen this behavior before?? You have not been looking.. and it won't be the last..

Imagine if he was eating french toast. The press would go ballistic.

I can't be the only person who's noticed this - Obama's not so good with unscripted remarks. As long as he's making his stump speech, he's fine, but he's not good off the cuff. Even his last debate performance, something for which he was heavily prepped, was weak.

So naturally, they're keeping him away from the press. They don't know what he'll say.

I just viewed Senator Obama's spokesman (Jamal Simmons) on Larry king and was very disappointed. He dismissed the endorsement from Michael Moore in an arrogant way, and was not nearly as articulate as dee Dee Myers -in fact, I felt like I was wathcing a Bush replay from one of his inarticulate press secretaries. Please, let's not go there again. Jamal Simmons has got to go-I cant' imagine listening to this kind of garbage ( uninformed, biased, ) for 4 more years. I just changed my vote from Obama to Clinton.

So the reporter was going to ask him about Carter and Hamas...the asking-Obama-to-renounce-whoever season is apparently still in full swing.

Lin--
I just found out that Bush actually had highly articulate press secretaries. I'm changing my vote from Clinton to Obama.

Thanks for the tip-off, TJM.

Of course, if we wanted to split hairs, it's still evidently true that no-one's specifically asked McCain if he specifically agrees with Hagee (whose endorsement McCain actively solicited) that the Catholic Church is the Great Whore of Babylon. That said, McCain did say, generally, that he disagrees with Hagee's anti-Catholic remarks, so that's close enough for me.

What McCain also said, though, in that exact-same Stephanopoulos interview, is that he's "glad to have (Hagee's) endorsement... I admire and respect Dr. Hagee's leadership of the -- of his church."

So I guess one of those many reporters that have such good access to Sen. McCain might want to get around to asking Sen. McCain if he also takes issue with Dr. Hagee's assertion that Hurricane Katrina was caused by homosexual depravity in New Orleans, or if it's exclusively Dr. Hagee's anti-Catholic remarks that McCain condemns. And if he indeed condemns Hagee's views on Catholics *as well as* homosexuals, then why does McCain have such respect and admiration for the man, and why is he glad to have his endorsement?

Maybe one of those reporters could spit out that brisket and corn on the cob he's served them and get around to asking those questions of the straight-talking McCain.

Patrick Meighan
Culver City, CA

Kevin, what has been the general "national press" reaction to the debate. Somewhat more critical than usual in the papers, but certainly not on the TeeVee. These folks protect their own, and if Obama is pissed about the debate, seems he would be pissed at the press for not highlighting how inane the debate was.

Us blog readers know about it, do the tv viewers?

And what was the question. If Obama "snapped", that seems like something that needs to be included. If the question involved flag pins, I think most of us here would agree that would be a "Cheney yourself" moment, and if all Obama wanted to do was eat his waffle, well that is civility defined.

What was the question he was asked?

Well, I am thinking that Sen. Obama will be doing all sorts of avails Wed. morning. Of course all of the questions will be about process and not issues, since he will probably lose PA by close to 10 pts, which will be most uncool.

Talk about elevating the inane ...

Senator Obama is treading dangerously here. The press needs to be fed. If they aren't, they will simply make stuff up.

Kevin's baffled by it.

I'm not.

Most reporters ask non-issue questions like the "bitter" sillyness; nothing on FISA, or Bush spying on Americans.

McCain keeps the reporters close to control them to the point where they won't write anything bad about him, otherwise no more parties.

Why? You watched the ABC debate? Maybe reporters don't get more access because as a group you are ignorant, get nothing right, and contaminate everything you touch. Just a guess.

I see now that the question was about Carter and Hamas.

Another Rev. question, that is, do you reject Mr. Carter? Denounce him? Both?

Dumbass question, it wasn't a foreign policy question, it was typical press BS question. Obama was right to be pissed, and let it show a bit.

The press is unhappy they haven't had an "avail" in 10 days. The rest of us are pissed that the press has sucked for years, and even the question in this instance remained tethered to the continuing cloud of stupidity that did not start, but was enhanced, but the last debate (which, according to Newton-Small does not count as being available to the press).

And, for the record, it was a stupid question that did not deserve a response. The press has utterly failed us and need to be hounded into doing their job.

Damnable way to elect a president. I wish Clinton would go away, but she has nothing left but "celebrity" and I am not sure she has a fully formed personality. She is a sound byte protected by a nuclear umbrella. Her machine will ensure that the will of Pennsylvania is spun and not expressed.

I'd say because for all his supposed eloquence, Obama isn't very quick on his feet. He says stupid things, he says unscripted things, he isn't vetted very well on policy, so he can easily be caught out, and lastly, I think he's pouting over the debate and mad at the press and feels like they are the enemy, so he should only talk to the people at the rallies, who adore him, stroke him and fellate him at every turn.

Personally, I hope he keeps it up, because eventually he WILL have to face the press, and the more inexperienced he is, the better.

Because the press is the enemy. He's done pretty well so far with his current strategy. Maybe not falling all over himself to appease a suck-ass press chasing every last little bit of Drudge-inspired drivel is not such a bad idea.

Because the press is the enemy. He's done pretty well so far with his current strategy. Maybe not falling all over himself to appease a suck-ass press chasing every last little bit of Drudge-inspired drivel is not such a bad idea.

Oh...and docweasel you might be a tad more accurate if you put John McCain's name in place of "he" when you write "He says stupid things, he says unscripted things, he isn't vetted very well on policy..."

I mean, seriously man...your guy can't make a coherent statement about Iraq without Lieberman whispering in his ear, he sings about bombing Iran, receives endless blow jobs from the press, and claims he doesn't know much about the economy. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

Oh...and docweasel you might be a tad more accurate if you put John McCain's name in place of "he" when you write "He says stupid things, he says unscripted things, he isn't vetted very well on policy..."

I mean, seriously man...your guy can't make a coherent statement about Iraq without Lieberman whispering in his ear, he sings about bombing Iran, receives endless blow jobs from the press, and claims he doesn't know much about the economy. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

Potemkin Candidate:
Barack Obama is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known. There is no reason why he should be afraid of the press.

Exactly. I mean, Obama would give Jesus Christ a run for his money.. how dare the media bother a saint like Obama? Never mind the fact that the mighty MSM Corporte Media hasn't treated Obama differently than other candidates.. Obama must be given a pass, because he is above us all. He is, in fact, Transcendental. The Evil Press should be joyous just to be in His Presence.. the fact that their words attempt to make Him look bad is proof that the press is Pure Evil.

Ken:

The press are a bunch of mindless robots. He would rather talk to the american people.
Seems to be working.

It seems to me that the American people, or at least Obama supporters, are the mindless robots. No one is allowed to denigrate His Highness, Obama.

I think he's just worried that there's just far too much BS flying around these days, and doesn't want to a) Answer questions about these "distractions" and b) Possibly create another "gaffe" based on his responses before the critical PA primary.

I have a feeling he'll probably talk to them again as soon as PA is over. He just wants the latest mountain of crap to sort of blow over before he talks about it again.

Kim Jung-il is taking pointers on America's Dear Leader. Can America survive an Obama presidency where half of Americans salivate at his every word and the other half absolutely detest him? Wait, that was Bush's first four years.

Kevin Drum: but I do wonder why Obama apparently has a habit of shutting out the press for very long periods of time.

Why? To improve the quality and value of the exchange between the candidate and the press corp.

Think of it as push-back against the worthlessness of the 24/7 news cycle. The week or so intervals between Obama's press conferences helps to filter out the daily noise of the 24/7 news cycle.

Think about the quality of the questions a reporter would ask if 1) the reporter has unlimited access to a candidate versus 2) the reporter is only able to ask the candidate a couple of questions once every week.

That's more or less your answer.

The answer should also be evident from what Kevin just wrote: the "story" here is Obama wouldn't answer a question because he was eating a waffle. How on your god's green earth does that qualify as newsworthy? It doesn't, not even remotely.

The reason we hear about stories like this is because the 24/7 news cycle demands something, *anything* new each and every day (if not several times a day).

For example, if you saw the Daily Show tonight a television network news program spent time analyzing a quarter second of video of Obama scratching his cheek with his middle finger to determine whether or not Obama was giving someone the finger. I'd like to know what school these people received their degrees in journalism from so it could be discredited.

Why would any sane and thinking human being who genuinely cares about the political process and the quality of the news covering it contribute to this worthless, lowest common denominator coverage for their twitching ADD viewers?

Kevin Drum: Seems like a self-defeating strategy to me [...]

I suspect that after greater reflection you will change your mind on that. And I'm not just saying that because the term "self-defeating" isn't exactly the appropriate description for a candidate who is leading.

Kevin! You corporate-Hillary-DLC shill! How dare you say that Obama has to talk to the press. Don't you know the old politics is dying!? How can he talk to the press or, you kow, formulate actual positions on issues when he's busy reclaiming America's soul? C'mon Obamatards! Attack Kevin! Get him for his hint of criticism of Barry. And don't let his repeated expressions of support for Obama or his vote for him in the California primary stop you! YES WE CAN SAVAGE HIM!!

May be the reporter in this instance had a real question, and I certainly do not blame him for trying. Good for him. And, knowing Senator Obama's campaign, this reporter will not suffer any consequences, unlike perhaps other campaigns or administrations.

However, I am not sure why anyone would find the tight press control baffling. Sure, there exist any number of ways to deal with the press. However, keep in mind, one certain rule exists for the Democrat: the press is NOT your friend. Senator Obama treats them in a way that puts an effective boundary around their nonsense. As evidence, others have noted the debate, but that is simply the cherry on top of the last several weeks. And, this is supposedly the warm up to what the “Republicans� to paraphrase Senator Clinton, are going to throw at him.

If the press is not Obama's friend, I don't know what "friendly" is. The only time when they have called him on anything is when he or one of his supporters (Goolsby, Power, Michelle Obama) has said something so truly stupid that it cannot be ignored. Other than that, it's basically a handjob. And that's not even talking about the Obama-sphere.

Obama thinks he can coast to the nomination without further scrutiny. When he does get a tough question, he claims its a "manufactured issue" or out of bounds. He may be able to coast in at this point, but that would be a real shame. This country faces serious issues and we need a president who is up to the task. This guy isn't ready for prime time.
Obama keeps busy running from the press--declining a long-standing invitation from Fox New Sunday (which has issued an Obama Watch), and turning down Larry King and Keith Olberman last night in favor of Comedy Central. America faces serious challenges. We deserve better than Barack Obama,

Democrats and Republicans unite against Barack Obama!

Obama thinks he can coast to the nomination without further scrutiny. When he does get a tough question, he claims its a "manufactured issue" or out of bounds. He may be able to coast in at this point, but that would be a real shame. This country faces serious issues and we need a president who is up to the task. This guy isn't ready for prime time.
Obama keeps busy running from the press--declining a long-standing invitation from Fox New Sunday (which has issued an Obama Watch), and turning down Larry King and Keith Olberman last night in favor of Comedy Central. America faces serious challenges. We deserve better than Barack Obama,

Democrats and Republicans unite against Barack Obama!

Waffle Eaters Unite!!

Just let the guy alone and let him eat his waffle!

That reporter should have done his job, and waited to talk to the server about what a handsome tip he/she received, so as to write the appropriate, newsworthy fluff-piece about what a great, all-American guy Barack Obama is.

A lot of people are "baffled" by Obama's choices on the campaign trail.. like not disowning his pastor and demonizing him like everyone else, like telling the truth about the links between economic hardships and religion, like telling the truth about McCain being better than Bush. All these things keep "baffling" the press, yet his poll numbers keep going up nationally...

...Maybe the media is baffled because Obama isn't running to be President of the Media, he's running to be President of the people. The media has devolved into a gang of talking heads with no journalistic credibility left. Why should he talk to them? CNN has Lou Dobbs and Glen Beck on every night and people wonder why the MSM has lost any respect it had. Puh-leez.

Nah it is a better strategy to engage them, despite their idiot/whore status. He's got to realize that once he's the nominee they will turn on him, so I'd hope he makes an effort to smooth edges where he can. This kind of thing can reinforce the whole Aloof thing which is not going to help in the general.

Because Obama is afraid people will figure out he's a phoney with a "W" like personality.

Another Very Important Story to ponder. No, not the waffle question or what finger he ate the waffle with or whether the waffle wore a flag pin but rather the churlish tone of Small's non-story and it's implied warning to Obama.

Did you see that crap on ABC??? I wouldn't want THAT press near me either. And frankly, neither does Georgia Porgie Pudding Pie and that worked out pretty well for him, didn't it?

There is more than one way to skin a goose, no? Let the man do what he's doing. It seems to be working fairly well.

"This country faces serious issues and we need a president who is up to the task. This guy isn't ready for prime time."

All that Obama has shown is that he might not be prepared to deal with the trivial, "gotcha" stupidity that passes for our political discourse. That has absolutely nothing to do with whether he's ready to deal with the serious issues that he would face as president. It's the pretense that these two have anything at all to do with each other that has so many people so pissed off at our national media.

HE can show he's ready by engaging the press on serious issues. Call them on their stupid gotchas and answer the Hamas question.

And backing out of the NC debate makes him look less capable.

Basically he's playing D now and hoping to run out the clock. Maybe a good strategy for the primary, but will not serve him well in the general.

but it's been reported too many times to dismiss it

Sunshine of the eternally spotless Drum mind.

What the press reports many times cannot be dismissed because the press would never have any *reason* to feel left out if they weren't being, you know, left out. QED. If Newton-Small is bitching defensively about it, there must be some tinder in all that smoke, right Kev?

Owmigahd, are you really this dense?

Subtext to most of the comments:

Nooo! Stop saying bad things about Obama! You're gonna hurt him in the polllllssss!

hitnrun LOL!

What was the question? After having "journalists" ask the stupidest questions imaginable at the last "debate", it's obvious why Obama might shun such exposure. In addition, there's only room for one Saint, so no matter how he answers a question, the spin will feed the inanity of our political discourse, because only Mr. McCain, who gives unlimited access, can be forgiven for "mis-speaking". I expect more from you Kevin. And this is legitimate because "it's been reported too many times"? I guess the "bittergate" was also legitimate for the same reason.

Hehe. He is a Democrat, in 2008, on the verge of being labeled as the first African-American elistist to run for president. He is probably afraid of the press. He should be able to deal with it, especially after seeing Gore and Kerry go through the same, but it is understandable. Or maybe he doesn't want to mess a game that he is winning - here in Brazil, it is pretty common to see much less access for the press from the candidate which is winning. The campaign might be preparing a different strategy comes general election.

Isn't Jay Newton-Small all of about 12 years old?

Her little bio over at Time.com says she's "covered the Bush 43 White House and Congress since the DeLay era." Tom DeLay only resigned a year and a half ago. So when did she finish high school, two years ago?

She's not experienced enough to be lecturing Obama and the rest of us about a candidate's accessibility to the press. Let the guy eat his damn waffle in peace, you little snot-nosed punk.

The problem with wafflegate is Obama may be running against McInsane. If he does this snubbing the press nonsense will come back to bite him in the behind. McInsane has been the media darling for over 8 years now. If Obama get the nomination and he keeps up these petulant snits he is toast by October 1.

waffles are on the intertubes so they have to ask.

iran, not so much.

I'm baffled by it

You're kidding, right?