Pat Dollard | Young Americans

WTF, Politico? Not only are Hussein and Michelle the two-biggest paranoid babies in the business, they are constatly trying to dodge a free and aggressive press. They will rarely and barely speak to the national media, they go into a fury when ever tough but fair questions are asked of them, and this article is but one example of the many times that they have tried to bully the press into either pulling or changing the actual wording of a story to words written by the Hussein campaign.

Unless you were paying very close attention you likely missed the change in a recent Politico headline from “Obama support soft among Catholics” to “Obama slow to gain among Catholics”.

The change itself may seem innocent enough until you learn that it was done in response to the furiously angry efforts by the Obama campaign to change the perception of Politico readers in advance of yesterday’s primaries in Catholic rich Ohio and Texas.

At 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Politico’s story about Barack Obama’s problems winning Catholic voters went live.

Within minutes, editor Charlie Mahtesian’s phone started ringing.

The heated interaction between Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and Politico’s national political editor Saturday afternoon and evening was in many ways routine. But it was also a window into aspects of the political process outsiders do not usually see or understand.

The exchanges show the speed and ferocity with which operatives inside presidential campaigns argue even the slightest nuances of stories they believe could be damaging. They also show the hectic, on-the-fly judgments that journalists make as they try to abide by standards of fairness while pushing back against dubious spin.

Among a volley of staff members and surrogates for Obama’s campaign to call Mahtesian, the most combative was deputy communications director Dan Pfeiffer.

Mahtesian, who has written about national politics for nearly two decades, said Sunday he was taken aback by Pfeiffer’s bellicose tone.

“Who are you? I’ve never heard of you. What’s your background?” Pfeiffer demanded to know, Mahtesian recalled.

While it may not be uncommon for campaigns to call news outlets to get their message out I find it a bit concerning that the Politico capitulated to the demands of the Obama campaign in adjusting the message. They essentially allowed the Obama campaign editorial reign, albeit minor, over their political commentary. Not only did the editors of The Politico change the headline without reference they actually added a quote near the top by a former Democratic Congressman who is campaigning on Obama’s behalf to attract Catholic voters.

Former Indiana Congressman Tim Roemer, who has campaigned for Obama among Catholic voters in Ohio, says he sees no indications that Obama is struggling among Catholics.

“The more Catholics see him and learn his positions on social justice and dignity of life issues, the more they like him,” said Roemer.

I see no reason to add this quote. The article already included the same substance in a statement from Joshua DuBois who is the Obama campaign’s national director of religious affairs. The addition of Roemer’s comments is essentially a placed message to Catholic Democrats and Independents that may be leaning toward Hillary.

It is sadly becoming commonplace for politicians and journalists to be browbeat into limiting what they can or can’t say, write or even think about Barack Obama. Whether or not the topic is Mr. Obama’s middle name, his ancestral Muslim heritage, his admitted drug usage, his stance on abortion or his record of accomplishment there is a coordinated effort to control all aspects of the conversation lest Americans do something so terrible as to decide for themselves.

The Politico took the commonly walked route, changed their headline, inserted an Obama campaign message and then excused the whole event by claiming that it was the result of a misunderstanding between the Obama campaign and Politico editor Charles Mahtesian.

Read the full Newsbusters article by Terry Trippany here.