Can Take My Eyes Off You

Much of the media has its eyes trained on Barack Obama this week during his swing through the Middle East and Europe. While the McCain camp has been making the point lately that Obama has been the beneficiary of media love, there’s also a growing feeling of frustration among the reporters covering the Obama campaign. I have a piece running in the New Republic next week that takes a deeper look inside Obama’s relationship with the press corps.”I’ve never had an experience like this, with this campaign or others,” the New York Times’ Adam Nagourney told me. “I thought they crossed the line. If you have a problem with a story I write, call me first. I’m a big boy. I can handle it. But they never called. They attacked me like I’m a political opponent.”

Read the full piece HERE

Salad Days

I have a piece in the upcoming issue of the New Republic on the meltdown of the Hyde Park food co-op, where Barack Obama did his shopping. Food politics have always been a political wildcard. In this election, Obama still can’t seem to shake his arugula image among some working-class voters. The sign outside the new grocery store in Hyde Park probably won’t help: AMERICA’S MOST EUROPEAN SUPERMARKET.