The Media Love Affair With Barack Obama is Over

[Update below]

Hillary Clinton has complained on many occasions that the media has been unfair to her and has given Barack Obama a "free pass" but during a recent press conference, that changed as the media started asking Obama the hard questions.

In what is being described by the press as a "contentious news conference", Barack Obama was asked about his relationship with Tony Rezko as well as questioning Obama on his denial about his senior economic adviser, Austan Goolsbee, speaking to Canadian officials about certain NAFTA comments Obama was to make at the latest Democratic debate.

Obama abruptly walked off the stage, ending the news conference after 8 questions.

A little back history.

Tony Rezko as the New York Times recently showed and to which has been brought to light recently in many other articles from a variety of media outlets, is coming up to trial, and his past dealings with Barack Obama are also being highlighted.

ABC even went as far as to suggest that Obama might be brought into the Rezko trial as a witness for the defense.

Tony Rezko was obviously in trouble. He was a defendant in at least a dozen lawsuits, federal investigators in Chicago were poking around, and his name was in newspaper articles about corruption and fraud.

None of that stopped Mr. Rezko, a politically connected developer, and Senator Barack Obama from completing real estate deals a few years ago that resulted in the Obamas obtaining their dream house and the Rezkos buying an empty lot next door.

Nearly three years later, fallout from Mr. Obama’s relationship with Mr. Rezko, who raised more than $150,000 for Mr. Obama’s campaigns, continue to dog Mr. Obama on the presidential campaign trail. That distraction promises to linger as Mr. Rezko goes on trial on corruption charges starting Monday.

To be fair, although Obama has connections, admittedly to Tony Rezko, no charges of any wrongdoing have been leveled at Barack Obama, in fact, Obama has donated that $150,000 that Rezko raised for him to charity, but the questions linger and Obama admits to "bad judgment" in his latest dealings with Rezko.

The Austan Goolsbee flap:

As reported on Digital Journal.com, after the last Democratic debate where Barack Obama had some harsh statements about NAFTA, news came from the Canadian outlet, CTV, that a "senior official, which was later revealed to be Obama's senior economic adviser, Austan Goolsbee, spoke to Canadian officials assuring them that Obama's anti-NAFTA comments were simply "political positioning" and were not to be taken seriously.

Obama and his campaign team denied this had happened, which prompted CTV to issue yet another report, naming names and time lines and then yesterday a memo of that meeting came to light.

Which brings us full circle back to this recent press conference that Barack Obama cut short after some harsh questioning led by the Chicago press corps.

One of the more highly charged question and answer exchanges was between Barack Obama and the political editor at NBC5 in Chicago and columnist at the Chicago Sun-Times, Carol Marin, who was question him about how up front Obama had been about Rezko.

Obama cut off her questions accusing her of having personal motivation, saying "Carol, can I just say I have to really dispute this,” Obama said. “It is true that you wanted an individual sit down, but I don't think that's fair to speak for the entire Chicago press corps because on this -- Let me finish," (she tried to interrupt), "Before you were reporting on these issues I had an avail, where I literally stood there and took every question people could think of."

Marin was backed up by Lynn Sweet, from the Chicago Sun Times, who asserted that Obama might have answered questions for the Chicago press but that others hadn't had the same chance to hear him on the issue.

Other reporters jumped into the fray and Obama referred to his latest dealings with Rezko as a "boneheaded" move, he also told them that his campaign would be happy to provide details and answers to the questions but when pushed on the issue of why his campaign has not been forthcoming with those answers, he said, "What happens is these requests I think can go on forever, and, at some point, we've tried to respond to what's pertinent to the question that's been raised."

When the Goolsbee issue had been brought back up, toward the end of the press conference, it was clear Obama had decided enough was enough and he walked off, to which reporters "erupted with shouts", and his parting words were "Come on guys; I answered like eight questions. We're running late."

According to the article, on the flight from San Antonio to Dallas, Obama did not wander back to make small talk with the press as he usually does.

Once again, to be fair to the press here, although they have seemed to be harsher on Hillary Clinton than they have Barack Obama over the last months, the Clinton's have been in the public eye for decades and Obama has not, therefore it is more likely they would have much more reference material on Clinton to "use" in open press conferences.

That is no longer the case.

The Washington Post is describing this event as "the lumbering beast that is the press corps finally roused itself from its slumber Monday and greeted Barack Obama with a menacing growl.."

The also point out a comment from Obama that the previous article did not:

Before he beat his hasty retreat, however, Obama found time to assign blame for the tough questions suddenly coming his way. "The Clinton campaign has been true to its word in employing a 'kitchen sink' strategy," he protested. "There are, what, three or four things a day?"

Spoken like a man who had just been hit on the head with a heavy piece of porcelain.

Blame Clinton.... I am not sure blaming Clinton because reporters have started asking some tough questions, is going to work for Obama.

Lynn Sweet, one of those reporters, has her take on what she calls a "combative press conference", in her article where she says that despite the happy talk from Obama, no answers were forthcoming.

[Update] Kind of interesting that someone working for Barack Obama is attending the Tony Rezko jury selection.

I had just asked the woman sitting near me (who was taking detailed notes) for whom she worked. "Actually, I can't say right now," she said. Just then, the security officer asked everyone in the room what organizations they represented. He pointed to her and said: "I know you're for Obama," then continued. She looked at me sheepishly and acknowledged she worked for the Obama campaign.

If Obama is trying to distance himself from Tony Rezko, why would one of his employees attend the proceedings?


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