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Originally Posted by Ustwo
McCain has sucked up to the media forever, this is nothing new.
In 2000 I vaguely remember some cutesy named bus where he would kiss their ass on the road while he did his campaigning.
But so what.
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The problem is when said journalists pretend to be unbiased. They claim to have high ethical standards, and they claim to be unbiased, but neither statement is true.
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As a journalist I'd sure as hell go, how often do you get to really talk to and see the people you report on up close and personal?
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I think getting 'close' to the subject of your reporting is a dangerous thing for a reporter.
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There is no code of ethics in journalism because there are no ethics in journalism. The only ethics are from the reporter or the editors. So if you feel a BBQ would make you unable to honestly report, don't go, you are either weak willed or just so worried about looking bad you are going to miss a great opportunity to meet one of US histories trivia foot notes, 'Who was the republican nominee for President in 2008, Hint:Not Bob Dole'.
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I disagree. I think there are ethical standards in journalism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journal..._and_standards
Sure, many journalists don't live up to those standards, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. Also, these ethical standards are a relatively recent phenomenon - but so is public sanitation, and I, for one, am happy about both advances, and want to keep them.
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As a republican I'd happily go to anything like this from Obama or Clinton, and yes maybe my opinion of them would change meeting them on a personal level, but so what, it would be a more valid option than one shaped only by official functions. I'd pass on the Green party of course as that won't be showing up on any triva card.
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I think more access (up to a point) is a great thing. However, this event wasn't something the reporters covered *as reporters*. It was explicitly intended as an event for the reporters to attend *outside* of their reporting duties. The reporters there were not there covering John McCain the candidate. They were there being wined and dined by him. It was an entire weekend at a spa/resort, and a chummy, relaxed time with the candidate. It was an event clearly intended to court and curry favor with the reporters, and I'm sure it worked brilliantly.