Gotta do this out of order. Sorry.
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Originally Posted by robot_parade
Hookers slathered in BBQ sauce? In that case, I can't really blame the journalists for accepting. Can I change my vote?
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What? Are you a canibal now? Are you sitting at your computer thinking "mmmmm, barbequed hooker, hot off the grill!" That's a little scarier than me in my wizard hat and crooked stick.
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Originally Posted by robot_parade
Of course not. I'm not saying that McCain has bought these journalists completely. I'm saying it's a conflict of interest, and they will naturally be (even more) biased in favor of him. However, if you buy me beer and nachos - of course I'll feel somewhat more kindly disposed towards you. I'll think "Wow, that Jazz is one swell guy!". If I were put in a position where I were charged with making an unbiased evaluation of you or something you did, I'd feel ethically compelled to disclose our prior 'relationship'. If I was already in such a position, I might feel compelled to decline your offer - beer and nachos would probably fall under a threshold where I would just disclose it instead of declining, as would anything around or below the cost of, say, a lunch.
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That's the thing - I am a swell guy. I usually insist on buying the drinks. It's what I do. Perhaps that's why I don't see the conflict here. The reporters are going to write what they're going to write, regardless of who filled their bellies. Is one of them going to sit on a story about how McCain is about to sell Alaska back to the Russians because of this barbeque?