It shuts down the Sarah Palin press pool.
There could be some short term tactical gains for the McCain campaign (send a message to the press about more favorable coverage, be cheered by some in the GOP’s base) but it’s a huge mistake in the long run. It will confirm the growing belief that the McCain campaign is afraid to expose Palin to uncontrolled questioning and that she can’t handle questions. And it adds to the general narrative that the Straight Talk Express is not. This will most certainly be reflected in some campaign coverage and analysis.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.