The Media and Anti-Media Candidates

Mary Katharine Ham | January 28, 2008 11:30 AM

I got seven-- count 'em, seven-- e-mails from the McCain camp yesterday touting newspaper endorsements from Florida, Arizona, and Chicago, among others. Quite an illustration of his reputation as the Republican the media loves to love and who doesn't mind loving them back.

A few sharp words directed at the NYT upon their endorsement of him probably would have played well. Certainly, on a national security front, there are issues worth taking with the Times that McCain could use to play up his own experience.

Certainly a contrast to Giuliani's more conservative-friendly touting of his anti-endorsement. I'm with the boys on this. Why run it as a web ad? I bet Hannity will pick it up. Maybe that's the idea. The only thing even close to as galvanizing to Republicans as a Hillary Clinton candidacy is hatred of the NYT.

Either way, though, it's likely too late for Rudy, unless those early votes go toward him in a truly remarkable way.

The Giuliani camp dismisses that prediction, saying their emphasis on early voting could turn the race in their favor. Some 400,000 early votes are already cast, but the results of that balloting won't be known until tomorrow.