In campaigns, as in basketball, the refs get worked

Basketball is not a bad primer, it turns out, on how our political ballclubs carry on. Team McCain has been complaining no end about how easy that lanky young rookie, Barack Obama, has it with the press, while their scrappy veteran suffers "fiction" at worst and inattention at best. Reports on John McCain's bad temper are exaggerated, even imagined, his advisors say, and the Arizona senator gets not nearly the television time he's due as a presidential nominee. Working the refs is a time-honored tradition in basketball and presidential politics. And for good reason: It can have an impact on the next contest. "We can't sit back when the press clearly, clearly is giving Obama very favorable coverage and very little tough scrutiny and not sort of call fouls when they happen," McCain strategist Charles Black said. That's fine as a political strategy. But the reality is not so clear-cut. So here's a summary of the campaign media action thus far.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-onthemedia12-2008jun12,0,331319.story
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