John McCain once prided himself on running an open and transparent campaign, saying he could not curb his accessibility to reporters because "that destroys credibility." McCain even promised to hold weekly press conferences if elected. Add that to the list of broken campaign promises. As his campaign has descended into blatant lies and outright distortions, John McCain has slammed the door on the media access rather than answer tough questions on the dishonest and dishonorable campaign he has chosen to run. John McCain hasn't done a media availability with national reporters in more than a month. His last news conference was on August 13 in Birmingham, MI. In the month since, he has launched a string of lies that have been called "truly vile," some of the "sleaziest ads ever" and been "exposed as a lie."
McCain on Transparency and the Press
McCain on curbing access to reporters: "that destroys credibility." [Washington Post, 1/21/08]
"My administration will set a new standard for transparency and accountability." [McCain speech, Columbus, OH, 5/15/08]
"I will hold weekly press conferences." [McCain speech, Columbus, OH, 5/15/08]
Recent News
McCain, 2008: Ducking the Media. "He used to be the most accessible presidential candidate in modern American history, and he prided himself on that. No longer. The last time he took questions from his press corps was on Aug. 13." [ABC News, 9/11/08]
FOX News: McCain Skips Media Avails for Staged Rallies. "Today marks the four-week anniversary since McCain held his last press conference (8/13 in Birmingham, MI) and three weeks since his last public town hall meeting (8/20 in Las Cruces, NM)." [FOX News, 9/10/08]
MSNBC: McCain Hasn't Spoken to Reporters Since August 13. "McCain has not spoken to the press since August 13 in Birmingham, MI -- the day his wife sprained her wrist at a fundraiser." [MSNBC, 8/25/08]
Campaign Uses Promise of Availability to Lure Reporters to Campaign Event. "The strange scene was enough to distract reporters from the fact they believed they would be covering a 'press conference' this morning, as the McCain schedule had advertised. McCain, who has been at his Sedona cabin for several days working on his convention speech and readying the announcement of his VP pick, has not taken questions from his traveling press corps since Aug. 13 when he visited Michigan." [Newsweek, 8/25/08]
