Deference?

Amazing: Rick Davis says that the McCain campaign will continue to restrict press access to Sarah Palin until the media show her more "deference".

Some synonyms for deference, according to thesaurus.com: agreement. favor. fealty. groveling. homage. humility. obedience. worship. yielding. submission. obeisance. allegiance. capitulation. In other words, don't ask her uncomfortable questions and don't call her on it when she lies. They should ask her more appropriate questions, like "Ms. Palin, is it tough to be such a maverick?" or "have you picked a color scheme for your office in Washington yet?"

How low has American journalism sunk that this is even a strategy worth considering? Are the media so cowed by fear of losing "access" that they will accept any demands the candidates make to gain a ratings/circulation advantage over their competitors?

I think it is going to backfire big time, though. The campaign is so thrilled by the post-announcement excitement that they don't seem to realize that, after the dust clears in a week or two, they are going to have to let her be interviewed, and not just by "deferential" reporters. It would have been much smarter to use the smokescreen of the current chaos and excitement to answer everyone's questions satisfactorily, letting them fade into the background by the time the fall season has really gotten underway. In not too long, it's going to start to seem troubling that the republicans don't even consider her qualified to talk with Tom Brokaw, let alone Vladimir Putin. Or at least I hope so.