Shame on... Obama?

In recent weeks, rising in the polls, has Obama started to embrace the ultra-left side of the Democratic Party? All election season, I have been criticizing McCain’s decision to snub all media outlets except the ultra-right FOX news, and kicking off the liberal columnists Joe Klein of Time Magazine and Maureen Dowd of the New York Times. I am disappointed to see that Obama is trending the same way.

Just today, it has been reported that the Obama campaign has ousted representatives of the conservative-leaning Washington Times, New York Post, and Dallas Morning News from its campaign detail. The choice was made because, according to Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton, “We're trying to reach as many swing voters that we can and unfortunately had to make some tough choices. But we are accommodating these folks in every way possible.”

I understand the reasoning, but it looks bad. Also, if you are trying to reach swing voters, it is probably useful to include the readership of conservative leaning publications, instead of, well, The New York Times.

Mostly, we should hold our candidate to a higher standard. Sure, McCain kicks liberals off his press detail because he is spiteful and Republicans are evil. But we shouldn’t be like that. Keep those who disagree with you close by so that they can ask the difficult questions. That is why the press follows candidates in the first place.

While I like to see Obama appealing to the lefties (sitting for an interview for MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow), I still wonder if this could be his undoing on Election Day. I still think he will win, but if there is something that could bring him down, it will be an external event like Osama bin Laden’s video four days before the 2004 election, or an internal unraveling that gives conservatives a chance to attack Obama's liberalism.