During the New Hampshire primary, Obama’s campaign was the most hated by the press corps. There was virtually no access to the candidate save for the same access the public had during an event. But at those events, the staff often kept reporters focused on the message by segregating the press from the public. For example, at the now famous Unity, N.H., event with Hillary after Obama won the nomination, the media were corralled into a separate section of the field, separated by metal barriers. I tried to get into the “public” area and was told I couldn’t because it was a Secret Service order to segregate the press. I called BS on the staffer, went to the nearest Secret Service agent, and asked who set the order to segregate the press. The campaign staff, he said. The Secret Service would never make such an order, he confirmed. Still couldn’t get into the “public” section, though. We were told in no uncertain terms that if we tried to access the “public” area we would be ejected. Don’t believe me? The Guardian caught an Obama staffer on video lying to a reporter with the Secret Service excuse. You can see it here. It’s a great video documenting the Obama campaign’s message control. Watch the Guardian reporter tell an Obama staffer, “You’re paranoid!” The campaign systematically kept the press at bay, even going to the extent of developing the tactic of telling the press that the Secret Service wanted us separate from the general public. (Remember, only Obama had Secret Service protection early in the campaign.) Refusing access to FOX News, enlisting the NEA, these are all extensions of this campaign strategy of controlling the message by controlling access to the information the press, and the public, had. It didn’t work just because a big chunk of the media liked Obama. Some of the reporters couldn’t stand him. But the staffers were religiously loyal. More than with other campaigns, they kept the secrets and lied with a straight face about why we couldn’t access the candidate or the public. Even the reporters who were skeptical of Obama were left reporting what he wanted them to because there was nothing else to report.
– Drew Cline is editorial-page editor of the New Hampshire Union Leader.