McCain, Palin can’t deal with press attention

John McCain and Sarah Palin sat down with Katie Couric this week to discuss their campaign. As Couric directly asked McCain if the government should speak of military action against terrorists in Pakistan publicly, McCain responded with a smile.

“Of course not,” he said. “But, look, I understand this day and age of ‘gotcha’ journalism. Is that a pizza place?”

Actually, John, it’s a request to elaborate a statement made by the next potential leaders of our nation. It’s not personal; it’s just politics as usual.

It seems that the repeated response of the McCain campaign has been to attack the messengers rather than defend the campaign’s message.

Last week, when the New York Times published a piece with sources linking McCain to lobbyist Vicki Iseman, McCain spokesperson Charlie Black called the Times “…the largest liberal newspaper in America trying to run a smear campaign against the integrity of the new conservative Republican nominee for president.”

Unfortunately, candidates, the media will continue to grill you in an effort to give the American people a more elaborate pontification of your platform. Though, admittedly, reporter bias does make its way into political interviews, it does not excuse the candidates from dodging the questions.

In fact, part of the everyday responsibility of the executive branch is to respond to criticism, both domestic and abroad. It does not make them victims; it makes them accountable.

It’s the height of the Palin camp’s double standard: don’t underestimate this tough hockey mom and governor, so long as you treat her like the delicate flower she is in interviews. I hate to burst her bubble, but skepticism, hardball questions, diplomatic responses and relentless criticism are part of leading a country through our various quagmires. If that’s not what she expected, perhaps she’s in the wrong line of work.

As Bulletin advisor Max McCoy put it so eloquently, “a democracy cannot function without effective journalism.”

In other words, we have the Constitutional right (and an arguable obligation) to hold our public officials and candidates to a high level of scrutiny and transparency. Without directly challenging and fact-checking our politicians, the general public is left only with carefully calculated press releases and unmitigated spin.

Every candidate, policy, plan and strategy will have proponents and it will have critics. The media plays the role of both, and though it is imperfect, it is one of many methods by which we better know our candidates. Some journalists represent specific interests, viewpoints and demographics. It’s a fact of our media. It’s a fact of a free media market.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Truth is generally the best vindication against slander.”

If this campaign feels that the reporters are slandering their stances, there is no need to be defensive. A simple answer and an explanation would suffice. An explanation is what the American people expect and deserve of anyone vying to be the next occupants of the White House.