The Trail

REPORTER OFF OBAMA PLANE

Times Editor Squawks

The Washington Times, which has had a reporter traveling with Sen. Barack Obama's campaign for nearly two years, was kicked off the candidate's press plane on Friday.

"The decision came just three days after the editorial page endorsed John McCain," Times Executive Editor John Solomon said. "I hope a candidate who says he wants to unite the country isn't using a litmus test for who can cover him."

The Obama operation also ejected reporters for the New York Post and Dallas Morning News, which have recently endorsed McCain. Room was suddenly made for black-oriented magazines that have not been constant fixtures on the plane: Essence, Ebony and Jet.

Obama adviser Anita Dunn said that the issue is one of limited space and that "anyone who suggests a linkage with editorial endorsements is just plain wrong." Dunn noted that "two of our largest editorial critics are ensconced on that plane, Fox News and the Wall Street Journal." Obama's hometown papers, the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, each received an additional seat. Dunn said that adding a second plane, a common practice in past campaigns, would slow things down and hamper the candidate's ambitious schedule.

Solomon said that, although the campaign has not objected to the work of Washington Times reporter Christina Bellantoni, "this feels like the journalistic equivalent of redistributing the wealth. We've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars covering Senator Obama's campaign from the start." Obama aides said they were surprised that Solomon would use one of McCain's catchphrases in responding to the move.

The McCain plane has excluded two prominent critics, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd and Time columnist Joe Klein.

While Dunn said that editorial content was not a factor, another spokesman, Bill Burton, told Politico that "we're trying to reach as many swing voters that we can." The Times circulates in Virginia, a key battleground state.

Dunn said her staff is helping the excluded reporters with accommodations and has offered space on the plane of Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., Obama's running mate. "It's not like we're trying to block coverage of our campaign," she said.

-- Howard Kurtz