Did McCain Campaign Pull CNN Guest Due To Palin Story?

[DainBramaged]

Sources tell TVNewser CNN anchor Rick Sanchez got in some hot water last week after a segment on his midday show looked into the Alaskan Independence Party. The segment discussed Todd Palin's seven-year membership in the group. It turns out not only was the McCain campaign peeved, but sources tell us Sanchez and his EP got a talking-to from the bosses, too.

Well, yesterday Sanchez and his producers had scheduled an interview with the McCain campaign's Maryland chairman, Daniel Zubairi. At a McCain rally this weekend, Zubairi, who is Muslim, was trying to calm other Muslim voters after they'd been confronted by a McCain supporter who was telling rally-goers about Barack Obama's "Islamic background."

The exchange was caught on tape by Davin Hutchins, a producer from the American News Project

Zubairi had been scheduled to appear on Sanchez's show Monday to discuss what happened at the rally. Sanchez tells HuffPo's Sam Stein the campaign pulled Zubairi at the last minute.

"Wouldn't you think they would have wanted him to come on?" Sanchez asks. "What the guy did was courageous. I called him heroic. I'm mystified why they wouldn't embrace him for his actions."
(Video at the link)

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cnn/did_mccain_campaign_pull_cnn_guest_due_to_palin_story_98133.asp#more

[eleny]

1. McCain seems more testy than tested

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Since the barracuda is trying so hard to associate Muslims with terrorists, perhaps the

McSame campaign did not really want publicity surrounding a Muslim who was defending McSame.

What would all those people in the McSame base think if they knew that one of them "terrorists" was voting for McSame?

[Supersedeas]

7. pretty much -- it was off message and reflects the tenor of Palin supporters

[jkshaw]

3. I was suspicious about that drama

at that rally. It seemed too well done, too smooth. I feel, personally, that they didn't dare let the guy go through an interview for fear he couldn't keep up the pretense. If it was a pretense. But really, all those Muslim McCain followers when the campaign was openly accusing Obama of being a Muslim as though it were the worst thing possible? I just can't believe it.

[DainBramaged]

5. It didn't pass the smell test with me.

[kristopher]

4. This adds an interesting insight to Chris Matthews' show tonight

He had Buchanan and the owner of Air America on and when the Air America gent (Mark Greene?) started to say something about AIP, Matthews immediately started talking over him and continued to filibuster for the remaining time of the segment (about a minute). It struck me at the time that Matthews had deliberately tried to block the reference to AIP.

I know he talks over people all the time, but this was different in that his comments were clearly intended to run out the clock. He is afraid he will be blackballed by the McCain campaign.

[DainBramaged]

6. K&R

[lonestarnot]

8. I can't believe how the real news is still trapped inside the vacuum.

[central scrutinizer]

9. lose-lose for McHoover

Having him on would entail showing the hate speech at the McW rallies. Also they probably don't want their base knowing that some Muslims are supporting McW, especially after winking and nodding at the "Obama is a Muslim" screamers.

[AlCzervik]

10. that seems to be McCain's mo.