Reply #27: EDIT TO OP (I missed the edit window to post this above)

[WilliamPitt]

I don't mean to imply that such events have no merit on spec. At minimum, having a campaign surrogate who goes sideways on the record raises questions about the main campaign's ability to hire/appoint capable people who can hold it together when the heat is on.

These things are worth reporting on, but not at the expense of issues and challenges that matter far more to our lives and well-being. When the media refuses to ask the candidates/campaigns to comment on the to-be-buried Iraq NIE report or telcom amnesty, because such queries involve harder work than questions about surrogate gaffes, we all lose.

And no, I'm not saying this to provide "cover for the Obama campaign. Someone up-thread said something like, "Yeah, it sucks when they report the truth!" Truth is in the eye of the beholder, and truth in media tends to be whatever favors one's favored candidate, and the whole process screws both candidates along with all of us.