A Tilt in Campaign Coverage

Saturday, October 11, 2008

I'm curious as to when Post management will finally acknowledge that it has become a tool of the communications arm of the Obama-Biden campaign. Did anyone even question the propriety of running a cover-story puff piece on a presidential candidate's wife four weeks out from the election [Magazine, Oct. 5]? A story accompanied by a cover photo of the candidate and his wife looking wistfully into space next to the headline "The Beginning of Something Big." It would make any PR firm or publicist proud.

I don't suppose there's any chance that tomorrow you'll run anything remotely similar regarding the McCain-Palin ticket.

-- David Liskowsky

Falls Church

The only things missing from the photo of Barack and Michelle Obama on the cover of the Magazine were the crowns. This country hasn't yet elected the next president.

Instead the media have anointed Barack Obama and his queen for us. Shame on the liberal press for its blatant endorsement, lack of objectivity and biased presentation of the facts regarding the Democratic nominee.

-- Susan MacKenzie

Vienna

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Congrats!

Again, a fluff piece on Democrat Barack Obama ["Obama in Springfield; From Outsider to Politician," front page, Oct. 9] and a critical piece on Republican Sarah Palin ["PR Consultant Helped Palin Grab Spotlight," front page, Oct. 10].

Do you get a bonus from the Democratic National Committee for your efforts? If not, you should.

-- R.B. Hopler

Oxford, Md.

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Dan Balz's Oct. 3 article on the vice presidential debate carried the headline "Palin Delivers, but Doubts Linger." Reading through Balz's lengthy analysis, however, I concluded that "Doubts Linger" was purely the emendation of the headline writer. Nowhere in the text do you find "doubts" to be a significant theme of the article itself.

The only remotely related point comes very close to the end of the article. There, Balz wrote that even some Democrats gave Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin favorable reviews but that others predicted her solid performance would not sway voters already inclined to vote for Barack Obama over John McCain. This scarcely surprising reaction from the opposition does not, I believe, support the strong downside emphasis of the headline.

Because many time-pressed readers lack the time to read much past headlines, The Post should take care to ensure that those headlines reflect the tenor and balance of the articles.

-- Ken Barry

Vienna

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Charles Krauthammer's Oct. 10 op-ed column ["Obama & Friends: Judge Not?"] was a sophisticated misrepresentation of Sen. Barack Obama's core values and his political path to success.

Acknowledging that Obama is not "as corrupt" as Tony Rezko and is neither racist nor radical exuded phony objectivity to gain acceptance for a baseless charge of cynicism and ruthlessness.

There is no basis to charge that Obama's association with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright means that he does not consider the most extreme of Wright's oratory as "beyond the pale" since there was much more to Obama's relationship with Wright than the worst of Wright's oratory.

Similarly, Bill Ayers's odious acts took place when Obama was 8 years old. At the time of their association serving on a board together, Ayers was a university professor and one-time "Citizen of the Year," and he and Obama had a common objective of improving education in Chicago.

It is precisely the rich, diverse associations in a tough neighborhood as a Chicago community organizer that prepared Obama to bridge the most bitter partisan divides. It is a tribute to his character that he could learn empathy from these associations, which did not subvert him but better prepared him to deal realistically with a tough, complex world.

-- Andre Sauvageot

Reston

My first reaction to the photo of Sen. Joseph Biden appearing to wag his finger in Gov. Sarah Palin's face [front page, Oct. 3] paralleled that of the letter writers [Free for All, Oct. 4].

A second look drew my eyes to Palin's daughter Piper, with an expression of innocence on her face. Resting on her were the caring hands of two parents who are political opponents, expressing reassurance that the adults have the future of all our children in their plans.

There can be more than one message in the picture that "is worth a thousand words."

-- David Rabadan

Annandale