At this hour, Sen. Barack Obama is holding a news conference in Jordan, which the cable news networks are carrying. But last night Newsbusters reported on NBC’s chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell who let loose some of her frustrations with the lack of access being given to reporters on the trip, specifically in Afghanistan and Iraq. Mitchell’s comments came during an appearance on Hardball with Chris Matthews.
“You’re seeing selected pictures taken by the military, questions by the military and what some would call fake interviews because they’re not interviews from a journalist,” she said. “Politically, it’s smart as can be, but we have not seen a presidential candidate do this, in my recollection, ever before.”
When questioned by Matthews about some of the video from Obama’s time in Iraq, Mitchell continued. “I can’t really say, being a reporter who was not present in any of those situations, I just can’t report on what was edited out, what was on the sidelines,” said Mitchell. “We don’t know what we are seeing.”
Mitchell hasn’t, so far, landed one of the handful of “exclusive” interviews with Obama.
Click continued to see part of the Hardball segment…