Initially, Obama staff told reporters they wouldn't be allowed into the Marriott Hotel ballroom during the senator's speech. Then TV stations were told they wouldn't be allowed in the room, but print reporters were OK. Eventually, Louisville TV stations shot video from the hallway, through a door and into the ballroom. Obama answered a couple of questions after his speech.

Now, if I had my druthers, every one of these visits by presidential candidates should be closed to the media. I hate covering them. The candidates rarely say much of substance and rarely answer questions from the news media. They're generally made-for-TV events. So I could live with Obama giving his speech and leaving town. I just don't understand it, from his perspective. Obviously, he didn't come to Louisville because of Kentucky's early primary election.....we don't have one. And he didn't come to Louisville to rake in big bucks. There was no fundraiser and the sold out tickets were just $25. So I'm thinking he's hear to spread his message. I assume Obama wants as many people as possible to hear him. So why block out the media?

I only have two possible explanations. One is that Obama has shown himself to be a little thin skinned. I've seen a couple dust ups on network TV when Obama has been asked a tough question and didn't handle it well, getting snippy with a reporter.
The other possibility is that he's hoping less media attention will create more buzz among voters who want to see him, kind of like Sony Corp. putting a limited number of Play Stations on the market in hopes of creating buzz and demand. That scenario gives Obama the benefit of a doubt.

Maybe there's a third scenario. Maybe Obama isn't quite ready to play with the big boys. Again, from this reporter's perspective, keeping the media out of a presidential campaign appearance is fine with me, I just don't see the logic from a candidate's perspective.

UPDATE.....SOME LOUSY REPORTING BY ME!!!!! THERE WAS A FUNDRAISER IN LOUISVILLE AFTER THE OBAMA EVENT. IT APPARENTLY RAISED MORE THAN $300,000 FOR OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN, ACCORDING TO A COUPLE OF SOURCES WHO ATTENDED. SO MAYBE OBAMA WAS HERE FOR THE MONEY!!!