All Blog Posts from From The Road

From CBS News' Scott Conroy:

(COLORADO SPRINGS) It was less than two weeks ago when Sarah Palin astonished her traveling press corps by lifting the curtain (literally) and journeying to the back of her campaign plane to answer reporters’ questions for the first time after 40 days on the campaign trail. But the candidate who has been criticized for having a bunker mentality when it came to the national media can now lay legitimate claim to being more accessible than either Joe Biden or Barack Obama.

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From CBS News' Scott Conroy:

(GREENVILLE, N.C.) The long, gloomy reign of what one journalist dubbed the “No-Talk Express” has come to an end. For the first time since becoming a vice presidential candidate on Aug. 29, Sarah Palin ventured to the back of her charter plane to answer reporters’ questions for almost 15 minutes.

Though video cameras were not allowed to shoot the unexpected media availability, Palin answered questions on subjects ranging from Troopergate (“Tasergate,” as she put it) to Tina Fey. She was warm and friendly to reporters, shaking everyone’s hand and addressing some by name. Still, most of her responses were sprinkled with the same talking points she delivers regularly in stump speech across the nation.

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From CBS News' Scott Conroy:

(NEW YORK) They scold us for “being unfair,” remind us to “ask all the candidates the same questions,” and occasionally, they boo us.

From Canton to Colorado, some of the tens of thousands of people attending Sarah Palin’s rallies regularly take it upon themselves to give the media a piece of their minds.

So I thought it only fair to turn the microphone around, and give a handful of rally attendees a chance to air their grievances about the way in which the media has covered the Republican vice presidential nominee.

Watch the video below:

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From CBS News' Scott Conroy:

(NEW YORK) Update: After media outlets complained to the McCain/Palin campaign about its attempt to prevent an editorial presence at Gov. Palin’s first meeting of the day, a pool producer was allowed in to the photo spray with Palin and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

She has been a candidate for the second highest office in the land for nearly a month, but Sarah Palin has yet to hold a single press conference. Now, the McCain/Palin campaign is attempting to take an unprecedented step in their apparent effort to protect Palin from having to face impromptu questions from national reporters.

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From CBS News' Scott Conroy:

(CLEVELAND, Ohio) During a quick stop at a diner in Cleveland, Ohio, Sarah Palin was asked for her reaction to the AIG bailout.

“Dissapointed that taxpayers are called upon to bailout another one,” she said. “Certainly AIG though with the construction bonds that they’re holding and with the insurance that they are holding very, very impactful to Americans so you know the shot that has been called by the Feds its understandable but very, very disappointing that taxpayers are called upon for another one.”

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From CBS News' John Bentley:

(WILKES-BARRE, Penn.) John McCain’s campaign had a little fun at Barack Obama’s expense tonight, issuing a fake press pass to the McCain traveling press on the bus as we landed at the airport here. The front of the pass identifies the McCain press corps as the “JV Squad” and has the caption “Left Behind to Report in America.”

The reverse side features a Frenchman pouring a glass of wine with the same caption en francaise (“Laisse en arriere pour faire un rapport en Amerique”).

The fake press pass satirizes the preferential treatment that the McCain campaign suggests the media has given Barack Obama. The allegation of media bias is nothing new but has reached a fever pitch in light of the presumptive Democratic nominee's foreign trip, which has garnered extensive attention from the press.

Earlier on Tuesday, the McCain campaign released a web ad called "Obama Love," which strings together a series of clips featuring prominent TV journalists lavishing praise upon the Illinois senator.

Check out the pictures of the fake press pass below.

The charter plane carrying Sen. Barack Obama made a safe, unscheduled landing in St. Louis after experiencing a maintenance issue en route from Chicago to Charlotte.

CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic reports the MD-80 Midwest charter flight's diversion was being called an "unscheduled stop," not an emergency.

After the plane landed safely, a smiling Sen. Obama went to the back of the plane where members of the media were seated.

"Everything's fine guys," he said. "Just thought we'd spice things up a little bit today, don't you think?"

From CBS News' Joy Lin:

MONTGOMERY, ALA. -- Mike Huckabee's got a new campaign sign but he's not taking credit for it.

On one side, the usual: "I like Mike." The other: "Us versus Them."

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From CBS News Producer Mary Hood:

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- A small mob of distressed journalists representing the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, CNN, ABC, CBS News and others stood outside a conference room today at the Spartanburg Marriott, to protest being denied access to Mike Huckabee's news conference for local press only.

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With the presidential nomination process concluding in less than one month, candidates are trailed by dozens of media outlets.

CBS News' Fernando Suarez, who's been on the trail with Hillary Clinton since October, takes you behind the scenes of covering a presidential campaign in this web-exclusive video.