So all told, how much damage has any perceived influence by Bill Ayers over Obama actually had? None. And that's why it was a red herring.
Missing the point Maggie....or not missing it but making believe you are.
A candidate having 4 conflicting answers to one question is something that the media should question further.
They didnt.
Funny thing too....during the last debate McCain asked him about Ayers and what his real relationship was.
Obamas answer?
Paraphrased....
"others interact with him that have republican ties so what is wrong with me interacting with him"
Did anyone in the media think it may be a good idea to ask him if the others were asking the country to elect them to be president?
Funny thing......He sat in the pews of Wright but was not held accountable becuase he "did not know of his views"
Really? Should the media maybe question the viability of a man as president who did not know the views of a man that he called his mentor? Did anyone actually address that with him? All of his interviews and not one quesition of "why should the American People feel you would be a good diplomat on their behalf if you are such a poor judge of ahcaracter?"
LOL...no media bias huh....none.
Barbara Walters hugged Obama when she interviewed him...she stared at the freaking floor when she interviewed McCain.
Final thought of the day before i go home and enjoy a good snow storm here in MI.
The media is there to report the story at hand by relaying facts. Be it for the New York Times or the Idaho Statesman or the Elkhart Truth or the Harlan Daily Enterprise in Harlan, Ky. They are not out to be hand-holders or shils or sponsors. These days i understand that the line for that has become hazy at best, but at the core of it, it is not the media's job to provide guidance, only to put forth what they find out and let people do with it what they will.
So whether something is under- or over- covered is in the eye of the beholder, but wanting the coverage to point someone in one direction or another is naive and wrong.
Nor is it the fault of the media for who is elected to office - it is the voters. The media has an influence over voters, there is no doubt; but there are innumerable facets of life that are also involved. The media may have moved up that list of significance in the past two decades, but it has not and will not ever be the sole reason for it.
Asking the tough questions and following up on those questions is their job, but if you want to know the answers to the questions you did not get answers to, then contact them personally, go to a town hall or call their office; otherwise, shut up and quit bitching.
For me, this all started with Palin being out of her league and i beleive she still is and can only hurt more than help her party, her reputation and her future aspirations, but as of now, she is only another cog in the media machine we have been debating and nothing else. And she is not even good at that job.