McCain DID criticize the press
Posted: Monday, June 09, 2008 12:02 PM by Mark Murray
From NBC's Mark Murray
Earlier this morning, we clipped an interview McCain did with Newsweek, in which he told the magazine that he didn't criticize the media in his speech Tuesday for overlooking Hillary Clinton's attributes. "I did not [say that] -- that was in prepared remarks, and I did not [say it] -- I'm not in the business of commenting on the press and their coverage or not coverage."
But as
Politico's Martin writes, "video from McCain's address shows him giving the line as written... Presented with video showing that the GOP nominee did in fact read the remarks as they were prepared, McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said Newsweek's account of McCain's answer is 'paraphrased and unclear.' Rogers said he was not questioning the magazine's transcription, but pointing out that they included brackets."
Martin adds, "But given that he was responding to a direct question about a portion of the speech, it's unclear what else McCain could have been alluding to when noting twice that he 'did not.' That he also pointed out that the same section had been 'in the prepared remarks' only clarifies that he was referring to the passage in question."
