CNN, John McCain's camp at odds following confrontational Campbell Brown interview

In one of those moments a network executive would excitingly term "great TV," CNN's Campbell Brown and John McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds clashed on air Monday over vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's foreign policy credentials.

Tensions -- and voices -- rose after the anchorwoman told Bounds that she was just "trying to get someone from the campaign to explain what foreign policy experience [Palin] has." Bounds repeatedly skirted the question, choosing instead to criticize Barack Obama's lack of executive experience.

"All right, Tucker," Brown said as she ended the segment with a broad, sarcastic smile. "I'm just going to give it to ya, baby."

The clip was much in demand today -- and, CNN revealed, the McCain camp made clear it was not pleased.

This afternoon, anchorman Wolf Blitzer announced on air that McCain's planned interview with Larry King tonight had been canceled by the campaign. Blitzer said McCain aides complained that Brown had gone "over the line" in her grilling of Bounds.

McCain campaign spokeswoman Maria Comella later explained the cancellation with this sharply worded statement:

"After a relentless refusal by certain on-air reporters to come to terms with John McCain’s selection of Alaska’s sitting governor as our party’s nominee for vice president, we decided John McCain’s time would be better served elsewhere."

Meanwhile, ABC News announced that it would be broadcasting "the only interview" with McCain during the week's Republican National Convention. Charles Gibson will handle the questioning, and the network will dole it out -- parts will air Wednesday on "World News Tonight" and "Nightline" and Thursday on "Good Morning America."

UPDATE: Jon Klein, president of CNN, has issued a statement in support of Brown's interview. "Campbell Brown did what journalists do," Klein said Tuesday evening. "She asked fair and important questions in a respectful way and was simply trying to get a straight answer to a straightforward question."

-- Kate Linthicum

Comments

[McCain is Bush]

I don't get this whole "Why is Gloria being gagged" schtick. Huh? This is not about that? Well, who is acting childish this time? The Republicans? All of them? Ok, I am not really surprised. Censuring the media isn't going to help them now is it. Maybe that is what brown meant when she called Tucker "Baby".

[Bob]

How sad that Tucker Bounds gets owned and John McCain takes his ball and goes home. Is that how he is going to handle difficult international situations? Quit and go home?

[Faith]

I guess Campbell Brown didn't get the talking points memo, "you are not to say anything bad or asking tough questions as it relates to Sarah Palin. If you do, you are going to be accused of being over the line or accused of being sexist".

[johnthebaptist]

Let Tucker go to Faux news and answer the softball questions. Campbell Brown for vice president!

[Gorefan]

I guess McCain will stick to FOX ntework - a safe port in this storm

Between vettinggate, troopergate, earmarkgate, and babygate, it appears that McCain has added a new word to the dictionary.

Palin (pay lin), verb, palined, palining. – 1. to make career ending mistake thru shear stupidity, laziness or lack of attention to details: example - The senator palined his presidential bid with his v.p. pick. syn. senile
2. to fire an employee for refusing to do unethical or illegal activities; example - The Attorney General palined the eight federal prosecutors.
3. be against government programs from which you previously benefited; example - The governor now palins earmarks. – syn. hypocrite.
4. to force abstinence education instead of realistic sex education on high schools students; example - The teenage pregnancy rate in Alaska skyrocketed after the governor palined the local school board. -syn. delusion.

[Joseph Williams]

I think That Tucker Bounds did not answer Campbell's question. He is a classic side stepper. Palin has no foreign policy experience. McCain has no distinct record of being different than George Bush. Hopefully the American people will see past this politcal sidestepping of the Bush, I mean McCain campaign.

[Common Sense]

Every female voter should be very upset at the sexism involved with the media. First it was Hillary and now Sarah. If Sarah were a man, she would not be getting grilled this way. Absoloutely disgusting! For the first time in my life, I will do a protest vote against my own party and pull the lever for Palin.

[O. Amaro]

Give me a break....McCain is only letting Charles Gibson interview him?! Is that Gibson's reward for conducting the Most Embarrassing Display by the Media in Television History...his moderation of the Democratic Presidential Debate?

[tlsmith1963]

I love to watch the Republicans implode. I've been waiting 20 years for these mean-spirited people to finally get theirs. They have left so many people without hope. Now it's their turn.

[pkb]

Poor old Republican whiners and cry babies. Tucker sounded and looked like a rebuffed TV evangelist. When you listen to a TV evangelist word for word, you realize how empty their rhetoric is.

[Tracy]

I guess McCain found him on Mr. Tucker Bounds on Ebay too.

[mary.thomsen@sbcglobal.net]

All we need is another four years of Bush policies with John Mc Cain and his gun totin' running mate,, Annie Oakley, who doesn't care about the environment - typical Bush stuff - isn't this country in bad enough shape - and McCain wants to continue the war - another war monger with more and more killings -

[mucker]

What I love most about this is how the McCain camp gets up in arms because of attention directed at Palin's lack of foreign relations experience while it shifts it's attack on Obama's lack of foreign relations experience to lack of "executive" experience. Can you smell, er... spell hypocrisy?

[Callie]

Wow! Censoring the media...go figure. Way to go Campbell for doing just what journalist are suppose to do--ask the though questions. The interview was valid. Media shouldn't be involved in spin! She asked valid questions and asked for valid examples...Tucker couldn't provide any!

Great ethical unbiased, unspun Journalism!

[Ira]

About damn time reporters give these talking points spewers some fire under their feet. Is it too much to ask for debate questioners to not take the pablum and be able to tell everyone - sorry but you aren't answering the question? Anyway, Campbell Brown is a star and I hope she never backs down.

[Jeff]

How can Campbell Brown breathe when she's that far in the tank for the Obama campaign?

[Sue]

Wow, so this is what passes for a "confrontational" interview in today's climate? This should be the norm.

[Lyn Morgan]

Campbell Brown's interview with Tucker ? was wonderful. Campbell did something that most American reporters seem unwilling to do, demand an answer to their question. Its time that American politicians are held to a similar standard as their European counterparts. There is a reason that the White House avoided press conferences where George Bush appeared along side Tony Blair. I don't think Bush dared to visit Ireland again after being interviewed by an Irish women reporter. What an impact the monies funding the presidential campaign would make if used to support American citizens. It could raise the education level of the populace, combat poverty or provide health care. Campbell and the CNN reporters need to continue to make the political parties responsible to American citizens. If the candidates can't or refuse to answer questions it highlights their inadequacies to the American public. Please demand answers from both presidential candidates. We depend on you!!

[peter]

For heaven's sake, Campbell was asking a question and was looking for an answer. There was nothing agressive or even feisty about it. Just a journalist asking a question and hoping for an answer.
Campbell, you are doing okay. I hope they are paying you enough.
Cheers, Peter

[smokey]

Honestly.....

I've had enough "foreign policy" to last for a loooonnnggg time...

[gumby]

This post is from a GOP 'insider'. I've seen the exact wording on several blogs and talk backs:

" ...I will do a protest vote against my own party and pull the lever for Palin."

Classic GOP

[NO Common Sense]

"Every female voter should be very upset at the sexism involved with the media. First it was Hillary and now Sarah. If Sarah were a man, she would not be getting grilled this way. Absoloutely disgusting! For the first time in my life, I will do a protest vote against my own party and pull the lever for Palin."

Open your eyes. The McCain camp has been flying the whole "experience is everything and Obama has none" flag for months and now it's being thrown back at his pick for VP.

It's not sexist at all.

[Liberalsarespinheads]

Kudos to the McCain camp for standing up to the left-wing media!!! Campbell Brown's relentless badgering of Tucker Bounds is indicative of the overwhelming liberal bias in today's press. Her smugness at the end of the Q&A with Brown only showed that she was not after answers to substantive questions but attempting to expose Palin's perceived weaknesses and elevate O'bama as the better candidate. Bounds not only answered the questions but he did it honorably and in a dignified way. Let the biasness and political punditry happen in a moderated debate, not on a liberal press outlet that falsely professes even-handedness and objectivity!! At least Charlie Gibson possesses the kind of class that is deserved of an exclusive interview with a presidential candidate!!

[Richard]

Liberal media? Has anyone watched the hate speech broadcast on Fox News? Thanks to CNN for offering some kind of response to the propaganda.

[Long Time Laker Fan]

>>>First it was Hillary and now Sarah. If Sarah were a man,
>>>she would not be getting grilled this way.

That's completely false.

If she were a man with a year and a half as governor, no
foreign policy experience whatsoever, who preached abstinence
but was unable to get the message through to his own daughter,
and who tried to use political power to get people fired for personal
reasons, then he would get exactly the same treatment.

Having foreign policy experience has nothing to do with
gender. It has to do with creating and voting on foreign
policies, as McCain, Obama, and Biden all have. Obama
has been at it for less time, but he is on the Senate Foreign
Relations subcommittee and has authored a couple of bills
of foreign policy that have been voted in and approved by
President Bush.