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The differences between McCain and Obama's campaigns. Quality or Quantity?

I found this column interesting because it gives the contrasts of both candidates. Sorry it's so long but I didn't want to cut and paste and leave anything out. Some people don't like to click exterior links so I have quoted the entire story. So, if you are interested, read it and give me your thoughts....:) Do you vote for quality or quantity! (CBS)From CBS News' Dean Reynolds: (NASHVILLE, TENN.) - After most of the previous 12 months covering Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency, it was interesting, instructive and, well, relaxing to follow John McCain for the last few days. The differences between the two are striking. Obama is the big time orator, McCain is the guy who struggles with a teleprompter or even note cards strategically placed nearby. Obama's crowds are larger, more enthusiastic. McCain's events are smaller, but to my eye, better choreographed. And now with the addition of Sarah Palin to some of his events, McCain can boast of crowds that match Obama's in energy. There is an urgency to the McCain campaign now that I don't think was there before. Due to the fact that he is running second, no doubt, but it may also be because McCain has a finishing kick. Whatever the case, he is sharper on the stump than he was before. (Though I would suspect a candidate running behind would want to schedule two or three appearances per day, instead of the one McCain usually does.) It is true that McCain enjoys taking questions from the audience in town hall-style settings. That doesn't mean he is the master of that kind of forum, it just means he's good at it. He likes to converse with voters. Obama does it well too, but seldom achieves that intangible bond with the people that all politicians crave -- or fake. Behind the scenes, where the public is not allowed, there are other differences. Obama's campaign schedule is fuller, more hectic and seemingly improvisational. The Obama aides who deal with the national reporters on the campaign plane are often overwhelmed, overworked and un-informed about where, when, why or how the candidate is moving about. Baggage calls are preposterously early with the explanation that it's all for security reasons. If so, I would love to have someone from Obama's campaign explain why the entire press corps, the Secret Service, and the local police idled for two hours in a Miami hotel parking lot recently because there was nothing to do and nowhere to go. It was not an isolated case. The national headquarters in Chicago airily dismisses complaints from journalists wondering why a schedule cannot be printed up or at least e-mailed in time to make coverage plans. Nor is there much sympathy for those of us who report for a newscast that airs in the early evening hours. Our shows place a premium on live reporting from the scene of campaign events. But this campaign can often be found in the air and flying around at the time the "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric" is broadcast. I suspect there is a feeling within the Obama campaign that the broadcast networks are less influential in the age of the internet and thus needn't be accomodated as in the days of yore. Even if it's true, they are only hurting themselves by dissing audiences that run in the tens of millions every night. The McCain folks are more helpful and generally friendly. The schedules are printed on actual books you can hold in your hand, read, and then plan accordingly. The press aides are more knowledgeable and useful to us in the news media. The events are designed with a better eye, and for the simple needs of the press corps. When he is available, John McCain is friendly and loquacious. Obama holds news conferences, but seldom banters with the reporters who've been following him for thousands of miles around the country. Go figure. The McCain campaign plane is better than Obama's, which is cramped, uncomfortable and smells terrible most of the time. Somehow the McCain folks manage to keep their charter clean, even where the press is seated. The other day in Albuquerque, N.M., the reporters were given almost no time to file their reports after McCain spoke. It was an important, aggressive speech, lambasting Obama's past associations. When we asked for more time to write up his remarks and prepare our reports, the campaign readily agreed to it. They understood. Similar requests are often denied or ignored by the Obama campaign aides, apparently terrified that the candidate may have to wait 20 minutes to allow reporters to chronicle what he's just said. It's made all the more maddening when we are rushed to our buses only to sit and wait for 30 minutes or more because nobody seems to know when Obama is actually on the move. Maybe none of this means much. Maybe a front-running campaign like Obama's that is focused solely on victory doesn't have the time to do the mundane things like print up schedules or attend to the needs of reporters. But in politics, Do you pick quantity or quality?

Public Comments

1. Obama's plane is smelly? Obama's people control the media far more than McCain's. Freedom of the press is a foreign concept to the chicago socialists who control the Obama machine.
2. Obviously Obama is moving faster then the press can keep up with. They should send the old guys to cover McCain who does a third of the work. "is focused solely on victory" isn't that the goal? Lead, follow, or get out of the way!
3. Interesting article. I would have to say I pick "quality" over "quantity". I don't know what impact campaign organization, accommodation, etc. has on voters, but I think it say something that McCain is more accommodating and understanding with reporters. I understand Obama is a busy man, but the middle class people he is campaigning to are the ones who watch these news shows and probably would appreciate hearing what he has to say. Just a thought.
4. Since I can't legally vote for 1.14 more years, my opinion technically doesn't matter. However, if I could vote, it would be for Ron Paul. Google him.
5. The differences between McCain and Obama's campaigns is Obama has a pattern of Radicalism, he comes from a church that he went to before for 20years that preached hatred of white Americans. Yes we really need a president of America like that. He is not far from Castro or Chives. Good job Obama cult fans
6. This story seems to fit with party lines. It's common knowledge that the GOP is better organized than the DNC, and it seems these two candidates are no exception. I wonder what he meant by the Obama plane smells bad? Body oder? Or does he mean the stench of Socialism?
7. the difference is that Mccain/Palin are liars and do not care about anyone except the rich
8. We have different needs. I don't think I can look at it from a reporter's point a view and decide. That reporter wants to do his job, I'm sure. He's being paid to report on the candidates. My candidate isn't being paid to accomodate the reporters. If they have minimally what they need than they have what they need. The candidate's money is money donated to him for his campaign, if he doesn't spend it on reporters, that's okay with me. I need a candidate who's thinking about me and the rest of the country not how he looks on a 20 second TV report with sound bite. I'm sure since McCain's campaign is running second, every sound bite is valuable to him. I understand that they're using Cindy's private jet, and with his age and medical conditions, he probably needs more luxury. So, it's better than Obama's...that's okay with me, too. I think Obama's campaign is run better than most candidates, at least it's what I've heard over and over again. If he were, for instance, chronically late for appearances, we'd probably be hearing how elite he is that he makes people wait for him, etc., so that's probably not the case. And when you're managing lots of people, events and issues everyday, all day, I'm sure there are some hitches. If McCain were so blessed to be in the position Obama's in, he'd have some time and management hitches as well. And let's face it, in the running for office arena, McCain has it hands down over Obama, he's been running for something for the last 40 years.