I suppose that we really have come to this. In the time before President George W. Bush, crowds, gatherings, rallies, etc... were not particularly "staged." Saying, "Wow! I hope I get a good reception here!" was a not uncommon pre-speech sentiment of many a politician, including Presidents. W, and his handlers, have changed all of that. If you even smelled like a McCain supporter, or, God forbid, a Democrat, there was no way you were getting within a five mile radius of said rally. Now, after eight years of this type of behavior by W(tacitly sanctioned by the media simply because it has rarely, if ever, been reported on), an honest, to the point question by a teenager is characterized, repeatedly, as "heckling" by a "veteran" CNN reporter (via Media Matters):
This, quite simply, is sad.
Honestly, I thought Sen. McCain handled the question well. The reason Bush's handlers don't allow such questions is because W NEVER handled such questions well off the cuff. They generally tended to give people of my ilk or Al Franken (when he wasn't a politician) sound bites. But somehow, a tough, honest question became a "heckle" to Jim Acosta.
Shame on you Jim Acosta. Shame on you CNN. Just because you don't remember how to ask the tough question doesn't mean you should belittle a teenager for having the gumption to ask it.
This a pervasive problem for the major networks.
Listen up journalists. Asking tough questions is not heckling. I would have thought they taught that in journalism school. As far as YOU are concerned, it is your JOB to ask tough questions. If you do not wish to do your job, you damn well better not call an American teenager exercising her free speech rights (not allowed by Bush & Co.) and, politely, asking a tough question, a "heckler"! You guys should have the balls to ask this question and a host of others.
End of rant.
Comments welcome,
Pat McGovern
Sunday Afternoon
3 hours ago
