Why McCain Is Running Against the News Media

One of the clichés of American elections holds that getting into a fight with the folks who buy ink by the barrel or beam television pictures into voters’ living rooms may be emotionally satisfying but politically risky.

But among the more significant things that we learned at the Republican convention last week is that John McCain and Sarah Palin have decided that running against the news media will help them beat Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden. And, they are betting that although their frontal assault on the press might not go down so well in the Hamptons and in Hollywood, which are Democratic strongholds anyway, it will play in Peoria.

The harshest commentary about Alaska Gov. Palin came from East Coast columnists and commentators, including some Republicans, who saw her as insufficiently qualified by D.C. standards. The GOP is hoping to capitalize on resentment of those news media elites, particularly in the heartland.

Moreover there is a belief in the McCain campaign – one that seems to reflect the public’s perception — that the news media has been giving Sen. Obama much more coverage and more favorable coverage. A Rasmussen Poll this summer found 60% of voters said Sen. Obama was getting better treatment from the news media than Sen. McCain. Nearly half of voters — 49% — said reporters would help Sen. Obama while only 14% felt they would help Sen. McCain.