McCain: Voters are tired of 'the cable monster'
SAN DIEGO (CNN) - The man who once jokingly described the political press corps as “my base” has a few complaints about the state of American media.
In a New York Times interview Sunday, John McCain lamented the non-stop news cycle spawned by cable news and the Internet.
“We are in a situation today where all words are parsed, all comments are diagnosed and looked at for whatever effect they might have,” he told the newspaper. “We have to feed the beast, the hourly cable shows, the instant news in the blogs and all that. That is just the situation that we’re in, and I’m not complaining about it, because that would be both foolish and a waste of time.”
But on Monday, addressing the National Council of La Raza, McCain did air a few complaints. He once again challenged Barack Obama to a series of town hall-style campaign events, calling it the only way to have an uncluttered dialogue with voters.
“A lot of Americans have a expressed their frustration with the sound bites, the charges back and forth, the cable monster that has to have a news story every hour,” McCain said, calling it a “disappointment” Obama has yet to agree to a town hall.
Despite the fact that both McCain and Obama organize daily conference calls featuring campaign surrogates, the senator said voters are “tired” of surrogates and their gaffes.
Americans “don’t want hear the misstatement,” McCain said. “They don’t want to hear the surrogate who may have made a mistake.”
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What does a debate have to do with any thing McSame?
You want to control Obama's time! No to debates!
Go Bam! You don't have to get on the same stage asMcSame!
He can't defend himself without dragging your name!
you, my friend, are the KING of Misstatements!!! this newfangled age of technology is your WORST nightmare!!!
"He once again challenged Barack Obama to a series of town hall-style campaign events, calling it the only way to have an uncluttered dialogue with voters."
what nonsense!!! mcCON holds his "town hall" meetings at large corporations who donate money to him-not very townhallish, johnnycakes!!!
mcCON's "town hall meetings" are a waste of President Obama's time!
Linking Sen. McCain to President Bush is like trying to link the planet Mars to Neptune. Yeah, they're both planets but they are very different.
Anyone who knows anything about politics knows that's a fact. It's why McCain is having trouble with the conservative side of the Repub party.
Of course, Joe....you know that too but then you're not tryig to tell that story to the politically astute are you...you're looking to feed that talking point to the less aware.
Still, it's called a lie no matter how you slice it.
Interesting...we shouldn't link Sen. Obama to the pastor of his church he has attended for two decades, quoted repeatedly in his books, married he and his wife, blessed his house, baptized his children, took huge financial donotations from and supported Sen. Obama in his political climb through the sewers of Chicago politics....but let's link McCain to Bush.
Sad.
Honestly, I could care less about what some bitter pastor says in some south Chicago church...that's his business. What upset me was the way the congregation was jumping out of their seats....hollering AMEN!...clapping their hands...nodding their heads in agreement.
Wright: "Thank God for letting me know who my enimies are!"....he was referring to white people.
Was Sen. Obama nodding his head then...clapping his hands...jumping out of his seat?
IT'S NOT THE MEDIA OR THE BLOGGERS , RESPONSIBLE
FOR THE MCBUSH LOSSES. MCSAME AND HIS SURROGATES
LIKE DAVID REMNICK, THE NEW YORKER EDITOR, WHO PULLED
A NAZI TACTIC OF TRYING TO DEMONIZE SENATOR & MICHELLE
OBAMA, WHO ARE TOTALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR IT ALL.
ViVa McCain
Hey John, how about becoming the "official" nominee before getting too disappointed in your supposed opponent's lack of response to townhall -style meetings.
For someone complaining about those sound bites you sure like to feed them with comment like this one!
I'm surprised McCain even knows what cable is.
Convenient position for McCain to take just days after his top economic advisor declared that we're in a "mental recession", and people who are upset about the housing crisis, rising gas and grocery costs, etc are nothing but "whiners".
Cindy McCain is now going to make Billions from selling Belgium's Budweiser! What next can we sell McCain?
I agree that Fox News is the cable monster.
McCain is just reinforcing how out of touch he is with modern communication. I think it was this interview where he revieled he needs aids to read out websites and doesn't see the value in email.
There is merit in direct dialogue, but basing your campaign comms strategy around hanging out for a town hall meeting... waste of time McCain.
Oh McCain...now you might admit your campaign might have made a mistake when you called all of us whiners and told us the current economic situation is all in our heads! Yep, that might have been a really big mistake.
McCain was not even born in the US!!
He'll also need diapers in his 1st term!!!
Time for grampa to take a nap! No McLies
Obama is too cowardly to debate.
OF COURSE HE WANTS TO HAVE A TOWN HALL MEETING HE'S AFRAID OF HAVING A REAL DEBATE.i HOPE OBAMA DOSEN'T GIVE IN TO HIS WISHES.
They said on CNN today that Cindy loves speed.
Hmmmmm – a lot of teenagers do too.
Obama, please hold some televised joint town hall meetings. This would bring some sanity to this election.
Praised. arsed???? Communication's... Aint it just Fantastic???
But I feel for John... I was thrown into Commincations 50yrs ago, otherwise I would have been so much like him, and many other's... Speedy! The Man, that think they can Manipulate, the rest.. I am way out in front most..... But only because,,,,,,,,,,, Of the Armed Forces... Borack Obama missed the Boat......
you did not say that when rev. wright stayed on the news for two weeks straight
What's with Jon McSame and his "Town hall debates"? I mean, this guy blows his teleprompter news conferences and expects Obama to cater to his weakness? C'mon. What does John McBush expect to do when he has to address the nation or foreign politicians; call a town hall meeting in Iran? It sounds to me like we're in for another round of “Bushisms”.
I am an Obama supporter but this is the first thing John McCain ever said that makes sense to me. Obviously he has a new speech writer to tell him what to say, but when all is said and done, he is still McCain. You can't have someone telling you what to think at every turn, or can you? Who will actually be running the WH if he does get elected - the new speech writer? Something to think about.
I'm tired of Republicans "RepubliCults" like McWar.
What McWar isn't talking about is that his "town hall" meetings are cherry picked for the crowd that he wants.
Like everything else McWar talks about it's what he isn't telling you that makes all the difference in the world.
Just another American Whiner. No More McWar.
Hey "Call him UP", McCain knows that what Obama says in private cannot be trusted. Think public financing and Obama's other lies. Obama does not have the guts to face McCain in a forum that real people will ask tough quetions. McCain does it all the time. Of course, McCain is used to standing up like a man.
He's right...they take apart everything he says and put disparing comments to it but do not do the same to Obama. The CNN ticker is constantly full of articles of praise, etc. on Obama. Obama can say what he wants and get away with it and then in the next blog he's going to give a historic speech to the NAACP. McCain cannot even blink without being put down. Time to quit being so biased. By the way, you can quit knocking Clinton...she's out of the race remember?? And if he picks her for VP live with it, she'd be a whole lot better than Dodd or Richardson.
Although I am not voting for McCain, I will say halleluja to him today. I for one am tired of getting partial news and truth.