Republican Christine O'Donnell, the Tea Party-backed Senate candidate from Delaware, declared on Fox News this week that she would not be giving doing any more national TV interviews. "Delaware is my focus," O'Donnell told Fox host Sean Hannity. The much mocked O'Donnell, who began her career as a conservative Christian advocate and anti-pornography activist, said the national media is trying to "paint me as extremist" by replaying controversial video clips from her past, including one in which she told comedian Bill Maher that she had "dabbled" in witchcraft in her youth. Will shunning the national media help O'Donnell communicate her message to voters?
O'Donnell can't hide her "nutty" past: "Swearing off the media now" won't "erase the 'nutty' things" O'Donnell has been saying for years, says Alex Seitz-Wald at Think Progress. But this move is hardly surprising — Sarah Palin told O'Donnell that journalists were seeking her "destruction," and urged her to "speak through Fox News." It looks like O'Donnell's taking Palin's advice, and, like Rand Paul, Sharron Angle, and other Tea Party favorites, screaming "media bias" every time someone asks a "non-softball question."
"Following Palin's playbook, O'Donnell vows 'I'm not going to do any more national media'"
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Shunning the national media is wise: O'Donnell is making a "good decision," says Rob Port at Say Anything Blog. She "has a race to win in Delaware," and it's just plain smart to focus "on communicating with Delaware voters." The national media is determined to characterize her as a "buffoon," so this blackout can only help her campaign.
"Christine O'Donnell: I'm not doing any more national media interviews"
O'Donnell won't be able to resist the spotlight: Saying no to TV may make sense, politically, says Suzi Parker at Politics Daily. But O'Donnell has been addicted to the celebrity TV afforded her since the 1990s, when she discussed creationism in schools on CNN and the sins of masturbation on an MTV sex special. It's "doubtful" that a "media junkie" like O'Donnell will really be able to "ignore phone calls from big-time talk show producers."
"Christine O'Donnell's younger years: Forget witchcraft, think media goddess"
-
Washington grapples with ICE’s growing footprint — and futureTALKING POINTS The deadly provocations of federal officers in Minnesota have put ICE back in the national spotlight
-
‘One day fentanyl will come back — and there will be little anyone can do’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
15 years after Fukushima, is Japan right to restart its reactors?Today’s Big Question Balancing safety fears against energy needs
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardonTalking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
