Palin: Yes to Reporters, No to NY City Folk

As I reported earlier, GOP Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has begun her third trip to the REM-eschewing burg, a 4 day whirlwind intended to buttress her foreign policy bona fides. While her comedic body double happily mixed with enthusiastic Noo Yawkers, the Daily News reports that the genuine Palin won't see much of Gotham's diverse populace:

...the Alaska governor will be kept largely under wraps during her stay in New York, where Dems outnumber GOPers 5 to 1.

"She's become like the Beatles or U2," said Rep. Pete King (R-L.I.), chairman of John McCain's campaign in New York. "She's got a certain celebrity status now - people want to see her; they want to hear her."

She's just too busy for that kind of retail politicking, say aides, who add that Palin and McCain are due back in mid-October for a major fund-raiser.

Meanwhile, the AP reports that Palin's staff relented on a press ban at Palin's tetes-a-tete with world leaders when some in the corps protested:

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who has not held a press conference in nearly four weeks of campaigning, initially barred reporters from her first meetings with world leaders Tuesday, but reversed course after they protested.

At least two news organizations, including The Associated Press, objected to the exclusion of reporters and were told that the decision was not subject to discussion. Presidents and members of Congress routinely allow reporters to attend photo opportunities along with photographers and the reporters sometimes are able to ask questions during the brief photo sessions, usually held at the beginning of private meetings.

The report goes on to say that CNN was granted the attendance of a producer when it threatened to pull its camera crew entirely. Although reporters were eventually allowed to attend, there was no mention of Palin answering questions.

This is the time for people to begin to think more critically about voting for a candidate who has such weak foreign policy chops that a visit to an American city improves them. A candidate whose staff can't bring themselves to let answer questions from real, live reporters 4 weeks after her nomination. There's a special cheer in New York for a candidate like that.

Tommy Christopher co-hosts "Unusable Signal" , on BlogTalkRadio Tues & Thur at 9pm, and Wed, Fri, & Sat at 11pm. Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.