NY Times, Reuters quoted McCain criticizing Obama for Hollywood fundraiser, didn't mention reports of McCain's own recent lucrative fundraisers

Summary: Blog posts by The New York Times and Reuters quoted Sen. John McCain criticizing Sen. Barack Obama for attending a Hollywood fundraiser without noting reports that McCain himself has recently held lucrative fundraisers in Beverly Hills and Miami.

A September 17 blog post by The New York Times and a September 16 blog post by Reuters quoted Sen. John McCain criticizing Sen. Barack Obama for flying "off to Hollywood for a fundraiser with Barbra Streisand and his celebrity friends" but did not mention that McCain also attended a fundraiser in Miami earlier in the week at which he reportedly raised $5.1 million. Nor did they point out that McCain reportedly held a fundraiser with celebrities last month in Beverly Hills.

Describing Obama's September 16 fundraiser, Times reporter Jeff Zeleny wrote on the Times blog, The Caucus, that "Senator Barack Obama stood beneath the stars -- surrounded by the ones from Hollywood -- and tried to soothe the concerns of worrying Democrats here on Tuesday as he held the biggest fund-raising night of his campaign." After describing the event, Zeleny continued:

The fund-raising rush for Mr. Obama comes at the very time he was working to turn the campaign's focus to the economy. Even before he arrived at his first reception here on Tuesday night, Mr. McCain criticized his rival's fund-raising trip to California.

In a rally in Ohio, Mr. McCain mocked Mr. Obama's schedule, accusing him of flying "off to Hollywood for a fundraiser with Barbra Streisand and his celebrity friends."

"Let me tell you my friends," Mr. McCain said, "there's no place I'd rather be than here with the working men and women of Ohio."

Similarly, in a post on Reuters' blog Tales from the Trail, reporter David Alexander wrote: "So what does Barack Obama do after a hard day of defending the common man during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression? Throw a $28,500-a-head fundraising dinner, of course." Alexander stated that Obama "spent the day Tuesday campaigning in Colorado, where he talked to supporters about the mortgage crisis that has reshaped Wall Street and caused many people to lose their homes. ... Then he jetted off to Los Angeles Tuesday evening for a pair of glitzy fundraisers that could be the biggest for Democrats during this election cycle." Alexander then reported that McCain criticized Obama for "courting the stars instead of ordinary folk," and quoted McCain's statement attacking Obama.

By contrast, in a September 17 Wall Street Journal article, Brody Mullins and Glenn R. Simpson reported: "Many of the fund-raising events that Republican rival Sen. McCain attends, including one in Miami on Monday, begin with a private cocktail hour with the Arizona senator for contributors donating about $25,000 each. Some events that Sen. McCain held this summer for his campaign and the Republican National Committee offered special treatment for couples who wrote checks of up to $100,000."

—D.C.P.