News Cut: June 19, 2008 Archive

How the news media polices itself

Posted at 8:24 AM on June 19, 2008 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Media

Early this afternoon, I'll be live blogging two "cases" at a meeting of the Minnesota News Council, a group in which members of the news media voluntarily participate. Here are two cases. Before the council starts debating it, you decide. Then we can compare notes this afternoon. (Narrative provided by the News Council)

Case #1

Tony Sheda called the News Council in December 2007 to complain about a news story (Bob: I couldn't find the story on the station's Web site.) that was broadcast on Duluth station KBJR-TV. In July 2007, his son Adam had been fatally shot just days after returning from service in Iraq. In November 2007, KBJR-TV reporter Barbara Reyelts referenced Adam's death in the context of the "The War at Home," a story on depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Iraq war veterans.

Tony Sheda complained that the story tarnished his son's memory and was sensationalized. "Adam may have been lonely, but he didn't have a 'death wish,'" Sheda told the News Council.

In January 2008, Barbara Reyelts, who is also KBJR's news director, offered a response that cited sources for the story. Her sources included police records, statements from the county attorney, and Adam Sheda's MySpace page, which read "my plans when I get back are to drink until my heart stops."

Hearing Questions

1. Was it fair to use Adam Sheda as an example in a story about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

2. Was it fair to report that Adam Sheda had a death wish based on a posting he made on his MySpace account?

Case #2

Steven Devich is the city manager for Richfield, MN, and complained to the News Council after a story aired on KSTP-TV featuring a letter he wrote to a Richfield citizen.

A Richfield resident complained to Devich about noise coming from an air exchange generator located in the roof of the Richfield Middle School. Devich wrote back to the citizen, addressing their concerns.

KSTP-TV obtained a copy of Devich's letter of response, and featured quotations from it in "Richfield Residents Frustrated Over Noise," a news story they did about the noise coming from Richfield Middle School.

Devich complains that he was not contacted for comment by KSTP, and was unable to explain the contents of the letter. As a result, Devich believes the story was misleading.

Hearing Question

1. Was KSTP's usage of Steven Devich's letter misleading in a 4/20/08 story about noise levels coming from Richfield Middle School?

Comment on this post

Water under the bridge

Posted at 10:17 AM on June 19, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads

In the political fallout following the collapse of the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, one of the mainstays of MnDOT's defense strategy was that inspections didn't uncover a problem with gusset plates, partly because the problem was an unknown one involving bridge design rather than condition.

A legislative report a month ago, however, said MnDOT based its bridge decisions on money, the subtext being that since MnDOT was run by Gov. Tim Pawlenty's lieutenant governor, keeping a no-new-taxes pledge was more important than fixing bridges.

Maybe. Maybe not. But documents analyzed by the Winona Daily News don't help the Pawlenty administration much.

According to today's story, the state bridge inspectors knew the Highway 43 bridge over the Mississippi River in Winona had badly rusted gusset plates two years ago. The bridge was closed last month.

In the Interstate Bridge reports inspectors noted missing rivets, rust forcing gussets apart and heavy section loss to corroded plates. Prior to that, MnDOT crews reinforced a single faulty gusset in 2000, according to the reports.

Inspectors "have been noticing corrosion and pack rust on that bridge for awhile," said MnDOT bridge inspector Eric Evens, who evaluated the Winona Bridge in 2006 and wrote one of the reports.

In the article, however, a bridge inspector says gusset plates are looked at differently now than they were before last August.

The leaders who ran MnDOT during its most troubled times are now gone. Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau was deposed as transportation commissioner earlier this year. Her #2, Bob McFarlin, has just submitted his resignation.

Some of the most strident DFLers in the political debate seem to be dismissing the political aspect of the failings of Minnesota bridges, leaving it to the new MnDOT team to determine how many rusty gussets are out there.

Comment on this post

Live blogging Minnesota News Council hearing - KSTP vs. Richfield

Posted at 12:06 PM on June 19, 2008 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)

We're "on the air" from the University of St. Thomas, where the Minnesota News Council is holding two hearings today with complaints from the public against a couple of media organizations. I won't go into detail on the nature of the complaints, because I've already posted them here.

Please feel free to post your comments and questions in the comments section below and I'll be happy to kick them around with you.

The hearing starts at 12:15. There are quite a few "big names" (and former big names) from the media sitting on the council. Like Kerri Miller, who's not here. Where's Kerri?

(Latest posts will be at bottom)

---

12:15 - First case is Steve Devich vs. KSTP, city manager for Richfield who objects that KSTP didn't get his comments in a story about noise in Richfield, while using a letter he wrote. Jim Gilbert, former Minnesota Supreme Court justice, is the hearing officer.

12:24 - The video of the KSTP report is being played. You can view it here.

12:26 - Devich explains the noise monitoring process in Richfield. Says readings in this case didn't warrant more tests. Says he couldn't force existing Richfield ordinance because the city attorney said it was below the state standard. He sent a letter about it and then turned on the TV and saw the letter was used. "We're very familiar with noise issues of Richfield," he said, suggesting the KSTP report made it look as though the city was vindictive. "I was never contacted, he (reporter) never tried to contact me."

12:32 - Letter from KSTP news director Lindsay Radford in packet given to council members:

"We represented the city's side by interviewing Mr. Devich's boss, the Mayor of Richfield. .... Surely the mayor is capable of speaking accurately for the city."

12:34 - KSTP policy, apparently, is not to participate in these proceedings, Justice Gilbert says. He reads KSTP's letter. Devich says KSTP letter is wrong because mayor is not "his boss," per se. He reports to council and mayor equally.

12:38. "Were you aware your letter is a public letter is a public document," Council member Issa Mansaray asks. Devich says yes. He then directs question to KSTP about why they didn't contact him directly since they used his letter?

"We don't know because KSTP is not here," Gilbert says.

12:42 - Devich says reporter Tim Sherno contacted him later about another story. He declined to be interviewed.

12:44 PiPress boss Thom Fladung, "Does the mayor agree the story was unfair?"
Devich: "I don't feel comfortable speaking for someone else."

12:45 "If I could do it all over again," Devich said. "I would have delivered it out there and talked to them (residents). Could I have done a better job? You bet. I was surprised that in the response to getting that letter, that the neighborhood didn't pick up the phone and call me. I was surprised the first phone call didn't come to me. The first phone call went to KSTP. I apologized to the City Council. That still doesn't absolve KSTP and Tim Sherno from calling me and explaining the letter."

12:47 Council member Barbara Johnson: "If you could change the newscast, what would make it more fair for you?"

"Just something to show that we were working on the problem; that I was working with the school district to quiet down the air handling unit while trying to get an ordinance put into effect that we could use to solve the problem," Devich said.

12:50 - Deliberations begin

Minnesota News Council member comments

Heather Harden, former TV reporter - KSTP entirely missed the story and the mayor was uninformed. That's unfortunate. In terms of the writing of the story, a real error is in the lede of the story. The reporter failed to notice that the decibel of the air handling unit was below the standards. Neighbor quoted the nighttime decibel level. (Bob: Nice catch by Ms. Harden)

Tom Peterson - If you call Stanley Hubbard on a Sunday and ask about a Tim Sherno story, you'd probably get the same sort of response that the mayor gave. They were looking for a conspiracy that wasn't really there.

Lorin Robinson - There's this ratings building thing that TV stations have that they're on the side of the "little people." It's just so easy to take on a governmental body and try to prove their on the side of the people against the governmental body "abusing" them without checking the real facts. Believes there's a trend that we've seen repeatedly and this is another example.

Elizabeth Costello - As someone who worked weekends and battled to get someone to talk to you on a Sunday, I'm not bothered that the mayor was interviewed, but that there weren't 10 voicemails on Devich's phone on Monday morning to show an attempt was made to contact Devich. "The legwork wasn't done."

Issa Mansaray - Concerned with the use of the letter itself. "It sets a bad precedent." Says it sends the message that reporters can build story around a letter without contacting its source.

Al Zdon - The press does have a role to protect people, it just wasn't done very well here. The letter looked like a slap in the face. "I don't see that it's a big deal... a serious problem."

Jeremy Iggers - "Both the reporting and KSTP's response are really shabby. This feels like drive-by journalism to me." Says "you hate to make that phone call when you have a beautiful story with a villain."

1:10 p.m. Voting begins. I've sent an e-mail to KSTP asking why they didn't send someone to defend their story. "I think they were here by virtue of their letter," Justice Gilbert says.

Final vote on the question:

1. Was KSTP's usage of Steven Devich's letter misleading in a 4/20/08 story about noise levels coming from Richfield Middle School?

Yes: 17
No: 1

Analysis -- That one was easy. The next one won't be. I'll set up a different entry.

Comment on this post

Live blogging Minnesota News Council - The limits of MySpace

Posted at 1:13 PM on June 19, 2008 by Bob Collins (9 Comments)
Filed under: Media

This is a continuation of live-blogging the Minnesota News Council hearing. The first "case" (against KSTP) has been decided. Follow along here.

The next case is bound to be heart-wrenching for everyone(Update: Here's a PDF file of the story documents). A father complains that a TV station unfairly used the death of his soldier son in Duluth as a case of post-traumatic stress syndrome and inappropriately used information on MySpace. Using MySpace information is increasingly common for newsies. Journalists are being encouraged to use it as a source -- as this article from the American Journalism Review attests. It's not without risks, however.

The general parameters of this case are covered in an earlier post here. There are also some very insightful News Cut reader comments attached.

One of the pieces of "evidence" attached with the packet for News Council members is a hand-written letter and a picture of his son's grave.

(Latest blog entry is at the bottom)

---

1:22 p.m. - The story video is being played. The Sheda family has left the room. The story is mostly about PTSD. There is a reference to Sheda, that he may have suffered from PTSD, citing an entry on MySpace.

1:27 - "They never called us," Tony Sheda tells the News Council. "If they did, we could have told him what a happy-go-lucky guy he was. He made some mistakes that night. The pain they caused our family is terrible.

He had a blood alcohol content of .24. "Adam didn't go in there, waving a gun and saying, 'kill me.' He waved $100 bill and asked to join the party. They took his money, beat him, and then shot him.

"The worst is the slander they did to a fine American soldier. Just imagine what we felt like around the holidays. Just imagine if they'd said that about your son or your daughter. Adam wasn't perfect, but he didn't have a death wish."

"He was in Iraq and when he'd come back from a mission, there was a 10 meter diving board that was off limits. The last week he was there, he climbed up and jumped off. They caught him and he was busted to E-5. That was Adam."

Mrs. Sheda: "She (Reporter Barbara Reyelts) used Adam to make a point. She never talked to any psychologist. How could she make that statement that he was having post-traumatic stress disorder? I'm not saying he was or wasn't, but how could she say that?"

1:38 p.m. David Jensch, news director of KBJR speaking. Says the station did contact the Shedas early on, but they declined to talk. Says veterans assistance group asked the station to do the story because PTSD was not being covered or talked about in Duluth.

"The Sheda story was covered by all media outlets, and was the best example of all veterans experiencing emotional wounds. It wasn't about PTSD. Our story never said that Adam Sheda suffered from PTSD; we could never have known that.

Was it fair to report he had a death wish based on a MySpace post. What was reported, the manager says, is he may have had a death wish. "Barbar Reyelts has never reported that Adam Sheda had a death with."

"Responsible journalists seek both sides of the story, which is what Barbara Reyelts did," he said. "Responsible journalism seeks input from all sources. This was done. This story has merit. It was produced in cooperation with people who work with veterans who think these issues are still being ignored."

Sheda rebuttal: "Here we go again. When Adam was killed, we refused interviews. But that was in July, five months before he was killed. They could've called us then and told us they were running the story."

"They never asked," Mrs. Sheda said.

Disputes KBJR manager's assertion that the issue was mentioned on blogs. "I've seen some scary stuff written on blogs," Mrs. Sheda said.

Mr. Sheda says he was drinking because they couldn't drink in a Muslim country. "I've written stupid stuff and that was a stupid thing. But I've written that 'cookies are to die for,' but that's not a death wish."

"Why did eshe need to use Adam?" Mrs. Sheda said. "It was pretty sensational."

"You speculate on blackjack. You speculate on a horse? You don't speculate on a fine young man like that," Mr. Sheda said.

1:50 p.m. Half of council members are looking down.

1:52 - David Jensch, news director: More involved than just a MySpace posting.

Council member Jane Berg asks if there's any other soldier's family that was willing to have their soldier's story told?

"Not that I'm aware of," says Jensch.

1:55 Council members are asking when a veterans agency official asked them to do the story. Jensch said he didn't know. Mr. Sheda says he knows the official, he presented the flag to the family at the funeral.

1:58 Council member asks if any media asked to interview them in the months after Adam's death. "Last summer was lost to us," Mr. Sheda says.

He's asked if the reporter had contact him, would the family have spoken.

"If she said Adam had a deathwish and we would've known that context, it would've been nice to give our side of the story, but if she'd called and done that, there would've been no story," he says. "

2:03 - Member Lorin Robinson to Shedas: Asks about a $40 an hour job. Did he plan to go back to work?

Mr. Sheda: Yes. Then talks about Adam donating a medal worth $1,000 to the air museum in Duluth. Says Channel 6 covered the ceremony despite being asked not to attend. "And they shoved a microphone in my face." (See story here)

2:09 Council member: Had the whole incident not happened and Adam not have died, would the series have been done?

Jensch: "Yes." But says he doesn't know if the person who works with veterans pitched the story to the station because of the Sheda case.

2:12 "Was Myspace writing used in any other media?"

Jensch: "Extensively"

"In hindsight, would you have called them in October and November and said, 'we're doing this?"

Jensch: "Yes. I don't think the reporter expected this level of sensitivity in the case. Everything that could be said about the Sheda case had been said. This reporter's story was focused on the other couple. If I'd been editor, I'd have caught that but I wasn't."

Sheda to Jensch: "Did you say awhile ago that Adam struggled in Iraq..."

Jensch: "It appeared that...."

Sheda: "What does that mean, 'it appeared?' He loved being in the service."

Justice Gilbert says, "we're not going to get in an argument here."

News Council comments

Elizabeth Costello - I appreciate the story because we don't do enough to show what these young men do in Iraq. Says she's not sure Adam was the best choice to show the kind of problems soldiers are experiencing. The Shedas were not contacted for this piece, "I think it would've been prudent to do that and give them the opportunity to talk about their son. Maybe it would've made the story richer."

"As journalists, it shouldn't be up to us" to make the determination that the MySpace writing was indicative of emotional issues.

Roberta Johnson -- I think there's a liberty that journalists take to interpret data in a way that it shouldn't be interpreted. You really have no right to make a conclusion because youre' not an expert. Ethically, that shouldn't be allowed. "It isn't your choice." Psychologists are trained; journalists are not. (Bob notes: Scroll back to the archives of News Cut and find "elusive local connection.")

Steve Schild - I don't think the story is perfect, but I don't question that there's a connection between PTSD and the troubles in people's lives. "It's an important story and Adam Scheda was a part of that story."

Noelle Hawton: "I don't see the link between PTSD and his murder. You can't make a judgment based on one MySpace entry. They inferred he had it and there was no proof he had it."

Heather Harden: "PTSD is an important story to do. Part 2 of the story was excellent. Part 1 was bothersome to me. Mr. Jensch you said the story never said he had PTSD, but that's disingenuous... In my opinion Adam Sheda was just plain murdered. What the media will not say that we all now is a drunk 26-year-old is a pretty normal event."

"I've seen media drawn to a drunk 26 year old like rabid dogs to raw meat." Calls the use of MySpace to conclude Sheda had a death wish "embarrassing."

Issa Mansaray: "I don't see the link in how he was killed in PTSD. It creates a problem for journalists coming into the profession. How should they cover stories like this?"

Al Zdon: "I think Mr. Jensch is careful to draw the distinction that the story... generally was about re-entry into the community after combat." Says the use of MySpace was "pretty crummy journalism."

Sheda rebuttal - "Done professionally, a story on post-traumatic stress would do a great story. Have it done with doctors. You don't have to use a certain person. The minute Adam Sheda's name was mentioned, it was like flies to dead meat. They could use that same time and have a good story and maybe it would help veterans. But a story like this didn't help veterans."

Mrs. Sheda: "I realize you need a hook when you do the story, but using the same footage as when Adam was murdered doesn't make any sense."

Jensch rebuttal - "It's an important story and it's hard to get the public's attention. The local angle is an important way to drive home a point."

THE VERDICT

1. Was it fair to use Adam Sheda as an example in a story about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? Yes: 8 No: 9

2. Was it fair to report that Adam Sheda had a death wish based on a posting he made on his MySpace account? Yes: 7 No: 10

Analysis - Very scary (to me) that there are 7 people here who thought saying someone may have had a death wish based on a single MySpace posting by a soldier in Iraq was fair.

Comment on this post

An informed electorate?

Posted at 3:55 PM on June 19, 2008 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

Americans don't care much about economic news.

That, for all the hand-wringing taking place 24/7, is the takeaway from a Pew Research Center survey today that shows only four in 10 tracked economic news "very closely" last week.

he public continues to express strong interest in news about the economy. More than four-in-ten (42%) tracked economic news very closely last week. Oddly, the Pew lede on the story is "The public continues to express strong interest in news about the economy." 42%?

More tidbits from the survey:

82% said they have an interest in following stories about energy prices, but only 50% indicated they cared much about housing stories.

48% say the media stories portray the economy the way it really is. 57% of Republicans say the media makes the economy look worse than it really is.

68% say they know "some" or a "great deal" of Obama's economic positions. 59% say the same thing about McCain's.

Only 22% of people followed the story of flooding in the Midwest last week. Somewhat less of a percentage followed the campaign. Three times as many people followed Tim Russert's death as the Supreme Court ruling on Guantanamo detainees having the right to challenge their imprisonment.

Comment on this post

Live-blogging John McCain

Posted at 5:17 PM on June 19, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

Much -- or at least some -- of the criticism surrounding John McCain's appearance at a town-hall-forum-like event at Landmark Center tonight has focused on the selection of the attendees. The Republicans used pollsters to find undecideds. McCain, however, has shown he can hold his own when things aren't scripted. He has had Jon Stewart of the Daily Show -- no slouch at these sorts of things -- eating out of his hand for more than a year.

Who can ever forget Jon Stewart's question about McCain's decision to speak at Liberty University:

"Are you going into crazy-base world?" Stewart asked.

"I'm afraid I am," McCain replied.

McCain wouldn't say today whether Gov. Tim Pawlenty is on a short list of vice presidential candidates, because he denied having a short list. But he said Pawlenty has proven that a Republican can win in Minnesota.

Of course, a Republican running for governor can win in Minnesota. But it wasn't Pawlenty that proved that. It was Arne Carlson, who the hard-core Republicans didn't like much, but who won elections nonetheless. Pawlenty, technically, has proven that a Republican can win an election in this state against a DFLer by 1 percent of the vote, if it's a three-way contest.

Can a Republican win a presidential contest in Minnesota? Of course. George Bush almost proved that four years ago. And the historical results found here show that Ronald Reagan -- not Richard Nixon -- would've been the last Republican to win here, had it not been for Walter Mondale being his opponent. In fact, without Mondale being on the ticket for two national electrions, Republicans might've won presidential contests in Minnesota for three straight elections.

Anyway, News Cut is live blogging the event at Landmark Center, mostly to see if the questions are tougher than Jon Stewart's.

Oh, and you can follow MPR's Public Insight gang on Twitter.

Comment on this post

Blogging McCain: The crowd

Posted at 6:36 PM on June 19, 2008 by Bob Collins (10 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

You knew someone was going to do this. It might as well be me.

The John McCain crowd lining up at 6:30 for his Landmark Center forum.

and almost the same spot on June 3rd.

Comment on this post

Blogging McCain - The questions from the uninvited

Posted at 6:48 PM on June 19, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

These are some of the tickets for tonight's John McCain event. Red tickets are going to VIPs and other campaign and party types. If you have a red ticket, you can't ask a question. If you have a blue ticket, you can. (Photo: Sanden Totten)

What questions will be asked? MPR's Public Insight Journalism Network contacted identified supporters of John McCain and asked them what questions they'd ask of the senator, if they were invited to the forum.

Here's what they said:

Undecided from Myrtle Beach, SC: Since there is a theory that regulation of speculators in the petroleum market could immediately lower gas prices 50 to 60 percent, will you consider that tactic? If no, why not?

McCain supporter from Eagan, MN would like McCain to respond to his suspicion: That the war in Iraq will proceed the same no matter who is elected. "What does he think, in reality, can Obama do to remove our troops prematurely and what will happen if Obama's successful?"

McCain supporter from Willernie, MN: Senator McCain, why do you disagree with over 31,000 scientists and blame humans for global warming or climate change?

Independent from St, Joseph: Senator McCain, there was a time when I, as a moderate independent, would have considered voting for you. Now, you have veered so far to the right that I have no choice but to vote for your opponent. Why have you done this?

Inver Grove Heights Goldwater Republican: Is it true that U.S. sugar subsidies to American sugar growers, in combination with tariffs on sugar imports work to keep the poorest people in this hemisphere (e.g. Haitians) poor, hungry, and without recourse? What will you do to correct this situation?

McCain supporter from Shoreview, MN: Do you agree that eliminating the gas tax for the summer will increase demand for oil? Do you understand that for every speculator betting on oil going higher, someone else is betting the other way? Speculators generally cannot store oil, why do you think they are responsible for high gas prices?

McCain supporter from Rochester, MN: Senator McCain -- Please explain your stance on free trade, and why you agree or disagree that we need to address the issue of labor migration to other countries.

Undecided from Grand Forks, ND: What are your thoughts on the size and expense that we occur with our military?

McCain supporter from Eagan, MN: Rather than funding short-term fixes to our fuel problems like drilling for oil off the coast of the U.S. and in ANWR, why not push forward with subsidizing and developing a fueling network for this totally renewable, non-polluting, practically proven, hydrogen fuel cell technology?

Former McCain supporter from Charlotte, NC now voting for Obama: You are selecting the next Supreme Court Justice. The only candidates from which to choose are exact clones of the seated justices. You must choose one, whom do you choose and why?

Undecided from Bloomington, MN: Without mentioning "pork barrel projects/spending," how will you reduce the nine trillion dollar national debt? Or is it not important to reduce the national debt? And, what will you do, besides promote cap and trade, to fight global warming/climate change?

Comment on this post

Live-blogging McCain: The forum

Posted at 7:02 PM on June 19, 2008 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)

Gov. Pawlenty does the introductions.

(Latest notes on bottom)

---

7:04 - Sen. McCain says he's toured flooded areas (Iowa asked him to stay away). Mentions Iowa, Illinois, "a few counties in Minnesota." Nothing about Wisconsin.

7:06 - Criticizes Obama for opting out of the public financing of the general election after earlier saying he would abide by spending limits.

Here's Obama's 2007 response to Midwest Democracy Network:

"Yes. I have been a longtime advocate for public financing of campaigns combined with free television and radio time as a way to reduce the influence of moneyed special interests. I introduced public financing legislation in the Illinois State Senate, and am the only 2008 candidate to have sponsored Senator Russ Feingold's (D-Wis.) bill to reform the presidential public financing system. In February 2007, I proposed a novel way to preserve the strength of the public financing system in the 2008 election. My plan requires both major party candidates to agree on a fundraising truce, return excess money from donors, and stay within the public financing system for the general election. My proposal followed announcements by some presidential candidates that they would forgo public financing so they could raise unlimited funds in the general election. The Federal Election Commission ruled the proposal legal, and Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., has already pledged to accept this fundraising pledge. If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election."

7:09 Nice work-in of Vietnam service. "I thought I was a great pilot until I intercepted a North Vietnamese missile with my airplane."

7:10 Vows to veto every earmark bill that crosses his desk. "You will know their name, I will make them famous." Factcheck.org questions McCain on earmarks here.

7:12 "We can become independent of our foreign oil and become a nation that doesn't have our national security threatened, and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions that are harming our planet."

7:14 Supports building of more nuclear power plants. "The Navy has been sailing ships around the world with nuclear power plants on them for 60 years and has never had an accident." (True, says PolitiFact.com)

7:17 Insurgents in Iraq "aren't done." "If they were done, I'd say bring the troops home," McCain said.

Questions and Answers

Q: (Questioner wants to see more honest talk)

A: "I have not been elected Miss Congeniality this year," McCain notes (it's a stump speech line), and runs down list of things that made Republicans angry. Says he's reluctant to talk about his past (Vietnam)

Q: I have a son with a disease, even with a good insurance policy, we pay many thousands. We're looking at entry-level jobs without insurance. I'm petrified he won't be able to afford his medication.

A: I won't go through all the details but we put the families in charge rather than the government. If you like government-run health care, I suggest you go to Canada. We understand there are uninsurables, we're going to have to in that case, government-approved plans. We'll have to sit down with Gov. Pawlenty and other states to establish risk pools with money from the feds and state (This will go over great with Gov. Pawlenty, who has railed in the past against the state subsidized health care program as "welfare health care.")

McCain asks Pawlenty about that. "Minnesota is fortunate, because we have the lowest rate of uninsured. But we can do better. We have programs like Medical Assistance and Medicaid. But if you fall in that gap and are the working poor, that's part of the gap that we have to address. "

(Bob: Expect a news release from the MinnesotaCare supporters in the morning)

Q: You call for an expansion of nuclear power, we have a problem where your approach on oil drilling to allow the states to opt-in/opt-out, we have a problem with temporary nuke storage in Minnesota. Would you approach that issue concurrently. How can we solve the federal permanent storage and temporary state storage.

A: We have to store and reprocess. Says one of the worst decision was President Carter's decision not to reprocess nuclear fuel. Supports Yucca Mountain.

Q: What directions will you set for alternative energy?

A: Wind, tide, solar, nuclear, a battery that will take a car 100-200 miles before it has to be plugged in. The auto manufacturers are starting to react.

(Ethanol? Gov. Pawlenty's favorite? McCain has had a very spotty record on the issue.)

7:37 Q: Our state depends on immigrant labor. We've had tragic auto accidents created by some of these immigrants. Can you explain your immigration policy?

A: We need a temporary worker program that works. A tamper-proof electronic document, that if someone has a job opening, they can get a contract from the employer, come to the country for two years and work, and have that verifiable.

We must secure our borders (applause). The people who are here illegally are also God's children and we must address this issue in a humane and compassionate fashion (no applause).

Q: Costs of education are soaring. No Child Left Behind is a bit of a failure. Discuss education policy.

A: We have failed to provide training for displaced workers. NCLB was "flawed, but it was a good beginning." We should fix it where it needs fixing. To go back to where we were, when we had no comparison, we've got to reward good teachers more and find bad teachers another line of work.

Fundamental to this is choice and competition. In New Orleans, they started over. They have 30 charter schools and according to their governor, they're seeing "a dramatic increase in the quality of education." (Here's a little more on that from the NY Times) If people want to home-school their children, they should be allowed to do that (appaluse). It isn't necessarily money that does the job (more applause).

Q: What do you mean by "victory"?

A: As the Iraqi military takes over more responsibilities and government is more effective, Gen. Petraeus will evaluate. I am confident that we'll be able to withdraw and come home. The casualties are at the lowest they've been in years. We want Americans to come home unharmed. Very important we be able to succeed and be able to withdraw.

(Fact Check: Casualties in May 2007: 131. May 2008: 21)

Says he would've provided more troops. Says Bush strategy was "terribly flawed."

Q: What will you do to prove to the average conservative that we can trust you're going to do the right thing, rather than pander to the "hate America" liberal crowd?

A: I would like a town-hall meeting with Obama so you can ask us that question side by side. I'm for lower taxes. Obama is for raising them. Different on national security policies. Polls show 81% of Americans think it's on the right track. That's not good. My record and my principles are closely aligned with Ronald Reagan. (Interesting read: McCain vs. Reagan; McCain's no conservative, hardly a Reagan foot soldier)

Q: Questioner tells about her work with the One Campaign (I heard about it from Bono). :What is your plan to bring Africa into the world economy?"

A: Fund programs to combat HIV AIDS. Give the current president some credit for that. Refers to globe in Google headquarters, which has lights that show people who are on Google, "until you see the continent of Africa, and it's black." Says he'll do what he can, but says it's difficult because of corruption. "We will try and have governments that respond to the people and give them a chance to realize hopes and dreams."

7:55 - Gives a shoutout to Divided We Fail.

Q: "On phone I identified myself as a 'strong Democrat' and they invited me anyway." Gets applause when he mentions he's a vet of the first Gulf war. "The trend over the past 8 years has been very disturbing with how the administration has handled veterans' health care. They have earned the highest standard of care. How would you handle that.

A: We need to applaud the people who work in the Veterans Administration. They don't have the ... things that are necessary. Would like to see V.A. focus on treatment of PTSD and combat-related injuries. They're the best at that. Then for the average veteran with routine health care need, would like to see them not have to go to the V.A. Would like to give them a plastic card and go to any doctor of their choice and get health care immediately. (Applause)

Q: In the 6th District, Rep. Bachmann has suggested it's possible to get $2 gas. What do you think of that?

A: "I eagerly look forward to that plan." (What? You don't read News Cut, senator?). "I don't believe... I'm glad Congresswoman Bachmann is concentrating on the issue... but I only see that we have to exploit existing reserves and going as fast as we can to alternative energy sources. I'd like to tell you we'd see prices going down, but I don't see that happening, at least in the short term."

(The sound you hear is the sound of the anti-Bachmann blogs typing their headline)

Q: I've lost faith in politicians because they spin the story so that it comes out sounding like we want to hear. I challenge you to tell us what we don't want to hear.

A: I went to Iowa and said I didn't support ethanol subsidies because I worried about the effects you see now. I went to South Carolina and said the old textile mills aren't coming back, but new businesses will come. I went to Michigan and said the old auto jobs aren't coming back, but Detroit was capable of technological advances to meet challenges of independence of foreign oil. I lost Iowa, Michigan and won South Carolina.

We have to do some tough things and we'll be proud America led the innovation of technology.

Today, I'll tell you we're in a long struggle with radical Islam and there will have to be a lot of sacrifices.

Q: Asked about the Supreme Court decision giving Guantanamo detainees the right to challenge their imprisonment.

A: I hope we can act legislatively to change what appears to be extending the right of citizenship to people who want to harm this country.

Q: Would you use the bully pulpit to talk to us regularly? (What? You get one question to ask the guy who wants to be the leader of the free world and that's the best you could come up with?)

A: Yes. (Rest of the answer ignored by your blogger. I will not give in to terrorists bad questions.

"I dislike the media intensely," McCain notes.

Q: Gov. Tim Pawlenty would make an excellent vice president. What do you think?
(Big News Cut points for this guy!)

A: Gov. Pawlenty is the next new leadership in the Republican Party. He has proved that. I wouldn't like to speculate on who the vice presidential candidates are but I know he has a place in the future of this country and the Republican Party.

He has two duties. In the case of a tie, he casts the tie breaking point. The other is to inquire daily on the health of the president.

"I won't let you down and I'll put my country first," McCain says as he ends his meeting.

Comment on this post