From Monday’s WAPO 

Accessibility Opens Doors For McCain

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 21, 2008; C01

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — As the JetBlue charter from Michigan touched down in South Carolina, I strolled up to John McCain‘s front-row seat — none of his aides batted an eye — and asked if he would continue to chat with reporters around the clock if he won the Republican nomination.

Most candidates, after all, grow more cautious around the media mob as the stakes get higher.

McCain said he couldn’t stop, because “that destroys credibility.” And besides, he said, “I enjoy it a lot. It keeps me intellectually stimulated, it keeps me thinking about issues, and it keeps me associated with a lower level of human being than I otherwise would be.”

There he goes again.

McCain’s ability to charm the press wasn’t responsible for his big win in Saturday’s South Carolina primary, but it didn’t hurt. After the slimy, rumor-filled campaign run against him in that state in 2000, media outlets yesterday embraced the notion that his triumph was “poetic justice” (Chicago Tribune), “exorcising the ghosts” of South Carolina (New York Times) and a “spiritual victory” (Slate).

Every presidential campaign is constantly calculating whether journalists are potential allies or incorrigible foes. The media are a great — and dirt-cheap — vehicle for carrying a candidate’s message, but submitting to questioning also carries the risk of being thrown on the defensive, as Mitt Romney learned in a tense exchange with Associated Press veteran Glen Johnson last week over the role of lobbyists in his campaign.