Obama camp hits Romney/Murdoch secret meeting
WASHINGTON (CBS News) - Obama Campaign adviser David Axelrod took to Twitter this morning to ask why the press let Mitt Romney hold a secret meeting with Fox News magnate Rupert Murdoch.
"How long does media let Mitt get away w/out pool coverage," tweeted Axelrod after noting that the "world only learned from Rupert's tweet" about Murdoch's meeting with Romney last week.
The same might be asked of the press that covers the White House and the Obama campaign, which so far this year has been barred from any coverage of 25 Obama campaign fundraising events. Most of them amount to private sessions with supporters contributing as much as $50,000 per person to the Obama Victory Fund.
Axelrod well knows that White House and campaign officials determine what events the press is permitted to cover. Often, as in the case of the Romney meeting with Murdoch, the press is not even informed of the get-together. That is frequently the case at the White House, where many events are not posted on the president's public schedule.
For example, on the flight back to Washington from Colorado Springs on Friday, President Obama took part in a conference call with supporters from aboard Air Force One. No notice was given to the press nor was the press pool aboard the presidential aircraft invited to cover the remarks he made as part of an urgent appeal for contributions.
The conference call only became public when reported by Lloyd Grove the next evening on The Daily Beast website, quoting from a recording he acquired of Mr. Obama's campaign outreach.
So when David Axelrod questions why the press assigned to cover the Romney Campaign let the candidate "get away" with a secret meeting with Rupert Murdoch, Axelrod knows the answer. From personal experience.
