Letter to Andrea Mitchell

I sent an email today to Andrea Mitchell, NBC news lady. Somehow, I doubt that I'm going to be getting an answer.

Ms Mitchell,

As the Chief Foreign Correspondent for NBC News (and I realize that you were on Hardball when you said this), you made the following statement.

"(Barack Obama) didn't have reporters with him. He didn't have a press pool. He didn't do a press conference while he was on the ground either on Afghanistan or Iraq. What you're seeing is not reporters brought in, you're seeing selected pictures taken by the military, questioned by the military and what some would call fake interviews because they're not interviews with a journalist so there's a real press issue here. Politically it's smart as can be, but we've not seen a Presidential candidate do this in my recollection ever before."

First of all, does the presence of reporters make something more "real"? How else would you characterize your description of "fake interviews"? Is it simply that you're cranky because you were left out? What particular aspect of a person's character makes him or her a "reporter," and therefore the only true source of questions during an interview? This sounds a little bit elitist of you, Ms Mitchell.

But let's go one step further. Our mainstream media seems enthralled by Senator McCain; the lot of you can't seem to do anything but stare at him with goofy grins and big doe-eyes, transcribing every word that he says, eating his barbecue, and occasionally altering interviews to put him in a better light (like Katie Couric recently did for CBS).

In March, Senator McCain went to Iraq. His visit was not announced, he didn't bring his usual collection of media sycophants with him, and he didn't give a press conference until he arrived in Jordan. But you didn't then complain that anything about his trip was "fake."

I'm just curious why you (on this and many other issues) hold Senator Obama to a higher standard than you hold Senator McCain. Is it out of respect for the elderly, perhaps?

Like I said, I don't really expect an answer, but I'll be sure to update if I do.