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Reporter Calls Romney On Lie in Mid-Sentence

We've discussed the campaign press a fair amount recently. I'll make an additional observation: a reporter's feistiness tends to be inversely proportional to his or her seniority. The most vocal agitators are college kids with cameras. After them are journalists from small, ideologically driven magazines and small-time reporters with nothing to lose. But as reporters gain prominence and work for increasingly "serious" publicans, they have more at stake, including their reputations and the reputations of their employers. Also, they tend to be older and less interested in direct confrontation. (I'm speaking in generalities, of course, and there are exceptions.)

That's why what Glen Johnson of the AP did to Mitt Romney is so unlikely and so outstanding. He actual called a candidate on a deliberate falsehood in mid-sentence.

Notice that, afterward, the debate raged over whether Ron Kaufman "runs" Romney's campaign. That's not really relevant. The sentence Romney was saying when Johnson interrupted was, "I don't have lobbyists that are running my campaign. I don't have lobbyists that are tied to my..."

Kaufman may not be running the campaign, but he is most certainly "tied" to it.

Update: Glen Johnson's article on all this is out, and it's a doozy. He looks at a whole slew of Romney aides and advisers who are lobbyists or well-connected Washington politicos, significantly undercutting Romney's claim that he is running an outsider's campaign.

Comments

holy crap, that was awesome. can we get glen johnson to moderate every single debate from now until nov. 2008? "don't be argumentative with the candidates?" are you kidding? PLEASE argue with these pricks once and a while, will you MSM?

Posted by: nmc on 01/18/08 at 2:06 PM Respond

Finally, a mainstream reporter with integrity and a pair of balls. LOL, yeah, Romney's rep was funny. The campaigns are so used to the MSM throwing them softball questions and following them around like sheep. I do think Johnson won't be covering Romney's campaign for long.

Posted by: Jeff on 01/19/08 at 5:55 AM Respond

Kudos to the reporter! I loved it. My blood was boiling when Romney's guy told the reporter that he was being unprofessional, when in fact he was exhibiting the strength of his profession when it actually DOES SOMETHING, like confronting falsehoods and exposing the truth. That was great - I want to see more of that kind of courage and combativeness in our media. They used to add security to our system, more recently they've just been complicit.

Posted by: Paul Miller on 01/20/08 at 11:02 AM Respond

My hat goes off to Glen Johnson. Mr. Johnson asks questions that need to be asked, and I thank god for him. His leadership shows us what's possible when we stand up and do what's right. Thank you!

Posted by: Looking Deeper on 01/20/08 at 8:38 PM Respond

Crap, you guys are all on the same stringer, all gulping for air because you've all be hooked, lined and sinkered!! The real truth(since everybody can make up their own truth here) is that Glen Johnson is really a lobbyist in drag because I saw him talking with other lobbyist pretending to be a reporter. There, that's what I think because that's what I perceive because that's what I want to believe therefore it must be true. Somebody get me a camera. . . . and a quarter pounder meal with kool aid to drink.

Posted by: Julian Brooks on 01/29/08 at 8:23 PM Respond