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Ron Paul Cuts Off CNN Interview When Pressed About Incendiary Old Newsletters

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CNN’s Gloria Borger asked Rep. Ron Paul some tough questions about some old newsletters that had some extremist and racist assertions — newsletters that were under his name but he says he did not write. Paul cut the interview short (not quite walking out since he said good bye and had his body mike taken off him. She was pressing him as to whether he read the disavowed newsletters under his name:

On the other hand, some like Mediaite columnist Alex Alvarez wonder what’s going on since another CNNer had grilled Paul about the same newsletters recently and also was featured in a segment later on.

Some thoughts:

  • A real journalist has a duty in an interview or in a campaign to have candidates respond to things that may not be what the p.r. people want out there. Good candidates handle it and then move on.
  • Cutting short an interview, refusing to answer phone calls, going after the reporter for his/her questions, or storming out usually backfires on a candidate in terms of getting wider support. But not always.
  • Since Paul has been grilled on this theme before, this will likely have little impact on his supporters. But not disavowing them with enormous emphasis, answering all question, gives a segment like this legs. If he had just answered it would not be a clip that would be shown repeatedly. The way it ended? It’ll be used by news organizations, linked to by websites and probably appear in an anti-Paul ad one day (edited to stress him taking off the mike and using as little as possible of his disavowal).