Palin's next interview to be with Sean Hannity

[Brittain33]

Reminds me of those standardized tests taken on a computer where if you get a question correct, you move on to a harder question, while if you get it wrong, you get shifted to the easy ones.

A Hannity worship session will do wonders for her self-confidence and the base's.

[Brittain33]

Hannity's not even a journalist, as he makes no pretense of objectivity.

Hopefully he'll mess up and get her to say something really stupid, but I'm not holding my breath.

If she comes out of the Hannity show with anything less than stellar reviews, it's on to Jeff Gannon and the Talon newsteam.

[Brittain33]

What a joke.

Agreed, E, but let's be fair, Olberman interviewed (drooled over) Obama last week and he wasn't exactly pitching hardballs.  In fact he'd ask and half-answer the question himsef........"......right Senator?"

Business as usual on both sides.

Ok, but Obama also went on O'Reilly and has had interviews with any number of people in-between, while Palin has done only one interview with the mainstream media and is far from going on somewhere hostile (as McCain, to his credit, did with The View.)

[Brittain33]

What a joke.

Agreed, E, but let's be fair, Olberman interviewed (drooled over) Obama last week and he wasn't exactly pitching hardballs.  In fact he'd ask and half-answer the question himsef........"......right Senator?"

Business as usual on both sides.

Ok, but Obama also went on O'Reilly and has had interviews with any number of people in-between, while Palin has done only one interview with the mainstream media and is far from going on somewhere hostile (as McCain, to his credit, did with The View.)

My God Brittain she was just nominated what, 2 weeks ago?  Obama has been a candidate for President close to 2 years and he FINALLY went on Oreilly.......how sporting of him.

You said that a Democrat went on a Democrat-friendly show, so that's the same as what Palin's doing. I'm saying that hardly matters when he goes on all kinds of shows, and so far, Palin has only agreed to be on one mainstream show. It's kind of early for a victory lap, but that's all she's done. No, I don't expect her to go on Air America or Rachel Maddow's show. However, it's a bogus comparison.

I do think it's ridiculous that she's been the nominee for 2 weeks and only done one interview, yes indeed.

[Brittain33]

Sen. Obama is running for president, Gov. Palin isn't. Has Sen. Biden done an interview with Fox News or any interview in the past few weeks that was hard hitting?

Wasn't he on Meet the Press last weekend? As with every weekend, it seems?

Again: enemy turf isn't necessary. Something that isn't a softball vaseline-on-the-lens kind of interview would count. Palin's already done one and McCain promises she'll do more.

[Brittain33]

I do think it's ridiculous that she's been the nominee for 2 weeks and only done one interview, yes indeed.

  Whatever.

Most of the press seems to feel the same way, which is why the tone of coverage has gotten more hostile these past few days. It's not an unrealistic expectation. They feel they have a job to do and the McCain campaign is trying to escort Palin past their scrutiny. This position may have sympathy among some members of the right, but I don't think it's defensible if you think she's qualified for the job.

[Brittain33]

Since I disagree with your premise (in bold), we just won't agree.

Ok, then, but how else do you explain their reluctance to have her do interviews? All that can be disputed is their motives--it is a fact that she has been sequestered from the press, and the McCain campaign has acknowledged it.

[Brittain33]

But I guess we'll just have to settle for disciplined campaigning instead of an amusing trainwreck.  Awwww. 

Which do you consider last night's interview? The issue is, the VP shouldn't be a potential trainwreck.

She's a smashing success at reading prepared speeches to crowds.

[Brittain33]

In case you haven't noticed "sweetie", the election is about 8 weeks away. Is she planning on doing anymore serious interviews? I think we can both agree Hannity is a hack and will ask her nothing of substance. Will she go on meet the press and the other morning shows? My guess would be no and the American people will not give a flying f**k because they don't watch those shows anyways. She is pretty and that is all that matters. She sure has my vote!!!!!!

If McCain maintains a lead, she won't do more than a handful of interviews. They wouldn't have done this one, except they felt they had to. If he starts to slip, the press is going to turn on them for their Rose Garden (Pine Grove?) strategy and she'll have to do some. She should--the more she does, the better she'll get at them. Clearly intensive studying with Schmidt is no substitute for actual interviews.

[Brittain33]

It scared me how she had no clue what the Bush doctrine was. It's fine if she goes for a couple of practice laps with the hacks at fox but she better do a lot of serious interviews in the stretch. I doubt she will and I doubt people will care. Makes me feel so great about humanity....not.

The press is clearly eager to redeem itself after getting rolled by the Bush campaigns in two successive elections. I think the shameless lying we've seen this week, repeated many times even after fact-checking, really irks them. They like the illusion that what they does resonates with the campaigns, even if the voters don't care. To be willfully disregarded by a campaign is an insult.