Palin's UN Photo Op Spoiled by Press Revolt over Access

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Sarah Palin's attempt to get a photo op with Afghan president Hamid Karzai at the UN appears to have been spoiled by a press revolt over access to the meeting. It seems the McCain campaign initially allowed reporters into the meeting only for the polite preliminaries between Palin and Karzai, kicking them out after a 29-second exchange on the topic of children and moving to limit coverage to brief photo ops for a still photographer and a TV camera. Obviously, Camp McCain was hoping to use the media to circulate some nice images of Palin "meeting with world leaders" while denying any substantive access to the meeting itself. A full-on press revolt quickly ensued, however, as news agencies told the McCain campaign that they would broadcast no images of the meeting unless a reporter was also allowed in to observe. The McCain campaign then partly relented, allowing one CNN producer into the room while denying access to print reporters and wire services. Later, McCain press representatives claimed that the restrictions were the result of a "mix-up, a miscommunication among staff." A pool of reporters was then allowed to observe Palin's meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe for 15-20 seconds (see New York Times, CNN, Huffington Post).

What a joke.