Cain Pursued by Press in Iowa: ‘I Feel Like I’m in School’

Steve Pope/Getty Images(DUBUQUE, Iowa) – Flagging in polls and reeling from an uncomfortable encounter with an editorial board in Wisconsin, Herman Cain dodged reporters in Iowa on Tuesday.

Cain hosted a meet-and-greet in Dubuque right outside the local Cafe Manna. Arriving late after doing a couple of sit-down interviews with local press, Cain gave an abridged stump speech. He touched on foreign policy, energy independence, the economy and how his “bold solution” – 9-9-9 – could fix all of that.

But Cain skipped out on an appearance that local and national press were told would follow the event. Reporters chased him around the venue and then eventually to his car. One question he did answer was, “What do you read on a daily basis?”

Cain responded, “What I read on a daily basis? Obviously I read newspaper publications and read some of the stuff on the website.”

When pressed by a reporter to name the newspapers that he reads, Cain replied, “I read The Wall Street Journal, I read the USA Today, and I read, sometimes my local paper, also read some of the online publications and I also read some of the special bulletins I get from the Republican National Committee which summarizes a lot of the stuff. So trust me, I feel like I’m in school.”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Ron Paul: National Press Ignores Me

ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speaking to a crowd at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, said his campaign had an uphill battle in trying to get attention from the news media.

As proof, Paul pointed to Jon Stewart's comedic take on The Daily Show, which has taken several news organizations to task for ignoring Paul's strong second-place finish in the Ames Straw Poll in August.

"I think people should ask why things are news and others are not," Paul said.

Paul then asked for a show of hands if they knew anyone who'd won the Florida GOP Straw Poll.

Paul remarked that it looked as if almost everyone knew.

He then asked for a show of hands if they knew who'd won the California Straw Poll.

Paul said it looked as if one person knew.

Raising his voice several octaves, he said, "I won the California Straw Poll."

Paul started his speech by saying that his campaign had raised more than $8 million in the third fiscal quarter, which ended Sept. 30. That's more than the $4.5 million he raised in the second quarter and more than the $5 million he raised in the third quarter of 2007, when he ran four years ago.

Later in the event, Paul was asked if he worried about the almost $17 million haul by the Perry campaign this quarter. He said all money is not equal.

"I don't get special interest money," Paul said. "Banks don't give me money. All donations are not equal."

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Rush Limbaugh: White House Wanted Hurricane Irene to Be Much Worse

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Was Hurricane Irene a “national embarrassment?”

That’s what conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh is claiming.

Limbaugh went on a tirade Monday to complain that the storm was “politicized” to provide a boost to President Obama’s reelection chances in 2012.

According to the right-wing pundit, the White House and the national media were both hoping that Irene would cause far more death and destruction than what actually occurred.  A huge disaster would have revived Obama’s political fortunes, Limbaugh said, not to mention help prove climate change theory touted by the administration and the media.

Limbaugh mused, “It was a lesson, if you pay any attention to this, the hype, the desire for chaos, I mean literally, the media desire for chaos was a great learning tool, this was a great illustration of how all of the rest of the media in news, in sports, has templates and narratives and exaggerates beyond reality, creating fear so as to create interest.”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Study Finds Mainstream Media Devotes Little Attention to Ron Paul

Jason Merritt/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- He finished second in Iowa's Ames Straw Poll but the mainstream media hasn’t devoted much attention to Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, according to a new study released Thursday by the Pew Center for Excellence in Journalism.

Paul was the focus of 27 campaign stories, according to Pew, based on an analysis of pieces that ran between Jan. 1 to Aug. 14.  The stories were compiled from a list of 52 news outlets tracked by Pew in their News Coverage Index.

In contrast, Donald Trump, who never entered the race, was heavily featured in 94 stories and Rick Perry, who just entered the race, was cited in 44.  President Obama was the focus of 221.

“The lack of coverage does suggest a conventional wisdom among many journalists that he can’t win the Republican nomination,” said Mark Jurkowitz, who is the Associate Director at the Pew Center for Excellence in Journalism.

Stories counted towards the study required that the candidate be featured in more than 50 percent of the story.  Pew called that number the measure of a “dominant newsmaker.”

But is Paul getting a fair shake?

Paul has accused the media of being “frightened by [him] me challenging the status quo.”  He made that accusation while appearing on CNN’s Piers Morgan.

Adding insult to injury, Politico reported that appearances by Paul were canceled by NBC’s Today Show and Fox News Sunday.

Despite the lack of media coverage, Paul managed to rank fourth in popularity among GOP presidential candidates in a recent ABC/Washington Post poll, which has him at 9 percent,  beating Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Media Coverage of Ron Paul 'Disappointing,' His Team Says

Jason Merritt/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Despite coming in a very close second in Saturday’s Ames Straw Poll, Rep. Ron Paul has been conspicuously absent from much of the media coverage over the weekend.

Paul’s campaign spokesperson, Gary Howard, tells ABC News that he finds the coverage of the congressman “disappointing, but not that surprising.”

“I think the media coverage has definitely been lacking after a pretty significant showing in the straw poll,” said Howard in an emailed statement.  “Dr. Paul came within nine-tenths of a percent of winning, yet the winner -- rightfully -- gets lauded for organizational strength, is declared to have top-tier status, etc., while some stories don't even mention [Paul’s] name.”

When asked by ABC News how they plan to change the narrative that Paul is an unelectable candidate, Howard said “we can only keep doing what we've been doing.  Until Sunday, the narrative on Pawlenty was that he was a top-tier candidate -- How did that turn out?  Compared to 2007, we have quadrupled our support, and doubled our poll numbers, so we feel like what we're doing is right.  We will just redouble our efforts.”

Ron Paul finished just 152 votes behind Michele Bachmann in the Ames Straw Poll, but the next day, the congresswoman -- along with newcomer Rick Perry and Mitt Romney -- ended up getting most of the media attention.  Together, many stories portrayed them as being the new "top tier" candidates while Paul's name was left out.

Paul’s campaign chairman, Jesse Benton, tells Politico that the congressman had a “loose arrangement” with many of the Sunday morning shows to go on if Paul did well in the straw poll, but when he did, “their answer was, ‘Sorry our show is set.’”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Sarah Palin Says She Wants to Help the Mainstream Media

Jeff Fusco/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network posted online Wednesday, Sarah Palin once again called the mainstream media “irrelevant” and said she wants to help them.

“Much of the mainstream media is already becoming so irrelevant because there is not balance,” she told CBN’s David Brody. “There is not truth coming out of mainstream media. And I know that firsthand. I live with it every day.”

“I want to help them,” she added. “I have a journalism degree. That is what I studied.”

Palin did not mention her most recent collaboration with the mainstream media -- appearing on the cover of Newsweek and sitting down for an interview with the magazine. She praised that piece in an interview with Fox News last week.

The former Alaska governor also shared her thoughts on Twitter, saying she tries to use up her 140-character allotment as often as possible because “I want that space. I want to get that thought across,” and dished on her favorite movies: “Hoosiers, Rudy, any of those underdog stories.”

She did not offer any new information about her 2012 election story.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Mark Halperin Suspended by MSNBC: Calls Obama Vulgar Name

File photo. (David S. Holloway/Getty Images for Turner)(NEW YORK) -- MSNBC has suspended Mark Halperin from his role as a political analyst for the network after the Time magazine editor referred to President Obama as “kind of a d--k” Thursday on live television.

Discussing the president’s testy Wednesday morning White House press conference and Obama's approach to the deadlocked bipartisan talks on deficit reduction, Halperin asked Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski whether the show was being broadcast on delay.

“Do we have the seven-second delay today?” Halperin asked, referring to the technique employed by many live broadcasts that allows control room operators to censor material before it goes to air. “I want to characterize how I thought the president behaved.”

Then, assured by each of the show’s hosts and control room that yes  in fact, the show was being broadcast on delay, Halperin said of the president, “I thought he was kind of a d--k yesterday.”

"Oh my God," Scarborough quickly responded. "Delay that!  Delay that!  What are you doing?  I can't believe you--I was joking! Don't do that! Did we delay that?"

Halperin later made an on-air apology.

"I became a part of the joke," Halperin said. "That’s no excuse. I made a mistake and I’m sorry and I shouldn’t have said it."

"I apologize to the president and the viewers who heard me say that."

But in a statement announcing Halperin’s suspension, MSNBC called his comment “inappropriate and unacceptable.”

“We apologize to the President, The White House and all of our viewers. We strive for a high level of discourse and comments like these have no place on our air,” the network said.

“Therefore, Mark will be suspended indefinitely from his role as an analyst.”

Halperin, also a best-selling author, joined Time in 2007 and currently serves as the magazine’s editor-at-large and senior political analyst.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Ad Campaign Blasts Obama, Targets 21 Battleground Media Markets

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) -- The national TV ad campaign launched Monday by Crossroads GPS attacking President Obama on the economy has aired in 31 media markets across ten states over the past two days, a source with knowledge of the ad buys told ABC News.

Twenty-one of those markets are in swing states Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, New Mexico, Colorado, Iowa, and Nevada.

Crossroads GPS, the independent group founded in part by Karl Rove, said last week it would spend $20 million on a TV ad campaign this summer criticizing the president.  The initial buy for the spot "Shovel Ready" cost $5 million and runs for two weeks, a spokesman said.

Here's a look at the cities targeted by the initial campaign:

• Virginia: Norfolk, Roanoke, Richmond
• South Carolina: Greenville
• North Carolina: Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh
• Montana: Butte, Billings
• Iowa: Des Moines, Davenport, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City
• Texas: El Paso
• Nebraska: Lincoln, Omaha
• Florida: Orlando, Ft. Myers, Jacksonville, Tampa, West Palm Beach
• Colorado: Denver, Colorado Springs
• Missouri: Columbia, Springfield, St. Louis
• Kansas: Kansas City
• Nevada: Las Vegas, Reno
• New Mexico: Albuquerque
• Washington, D.C.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Palin Defends Gingrich Against 'Leftist Lame-Stream Media'

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- In a pair of appearances on conservative talk shows Wednesday night, Sarah Palin defended presidential contender Newt Gingrich's criticism of fellow Republican Paul Ryan's Medicare plan by reiterating her frustration with the “leftist lame-stream media."

On Sean Hannity’s Fox News show, Palin argued that Gingrich had no reason to apologize for calling Ryan’s Medicare plan “right-wing social engineering.”

“I don’t know why politicians feel that they have to apologize for something that they said just because they’ve gone through a 24-hour cycle of the mainstream media,” she said.  “Don’t apologize later just because the media has dinged ya on what it is that you’ve said.”

She urged Gingrich, Ryan and the rest of the 2012 conservative contenders to tailor their campaigns to avoid the “lame-stream media.”

“Candidates need to get their message out through the new social media,” she said.  “Don’t even participate in that goofy game that’s been played for too many years with the leftist lame-stream media."

Palin went on to call Ryan’s plan, which calls for disposing of direct Medicare payments to doctors and hospitals in favor of a system of subsidized private insurance for seniors, “fiscally sound and courageous” compared to President Obama’s “big-spending government overreach more indebtness plan.”

The former governor of Alaska also criticized David Gregory, NBC's Meet the Press host, for a "racist tinged" question in which he implied that Gingrich was racially insensitive in referring to President Obama as "the most successful food stamp president in American history" during a speech Gingrich made in Georgia last week.

"Talk about racism, that was a racist-tinged question from David Gregory," she told Hannity.  "Obviously, it is done to end the conversation, just to distract, divert attention from what the real substance is and stop the conversation."

On Eric Bolling’s Fox Business Network show Follow the Money, Palin echoed her approval of Ryan’s plan and criticized House minority leader Nancy Pelosi for “forcing Obama-care down our throats.”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

President Obama Surprises Press Aboard Air Force One

Pool Photo (file)(WASHINGTON) -- Though members of the press fly Air Force One on every trip the president takes, they sit in the rear of the plane, sequestered in a separate cabin and rarely see the commander in chief.

But about a half-hour into Monday’s four-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Santiago, Chile, President Obama made a surprise drop by in the press cabin. And, in a ‘turn-the-tables’ moment, the surprised press corps found themselves answering Obama’s questions.

"What are you guys doing?” he asked as he appeared solo in the doorway -- no aides or handlers with him. Taken a little off guard, the press told him they were watching the Naomi Watts/Sean Penn movie Fair Game.

"Is it any good?" Obama asked. “Ask us in an hour,” was the reply from one of the press corps.

“You guys having fun?”  Obama quizzed, adding that he heard some press folks had stayed out “late late” last night and “ate too much beef” at the local Brazilian churrascaria.

But before the press could turn the tables back on Obama, he ducked right back out of the cabin, saying “See ya” as he moved out of sight. The entire encounter was less than one minute.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio