Campaign Desk
The Best Political Team On TV…
…Is in the “spin room” before debate even starts
By Liz Cox Barrett Wed 12 Dec 2007 03:24 PMHere’s CNN’s Candy Crowley, moments before this afternoon’s Republican presidential debate, struggling to explain why, after debates, she and her campaign press cohorts flock to a room expressly devoted to “spin.”
CNN’s Kira Phillips: “Let’s talk about where you are. You’re in the spin room…explain to our viewers what the spin room is…Who are those people behind you. Why is this called the spin room?”Candy Crowley: “Well it’s the spin room because here is where we expect people to tell us how well their guy did. Sometimes… the lower-tier candidates, they’ll come back here themselves. Generally, those who are in the top three don’t and they send their surrogates out here. So, you know, sometimes it’s useful to see what candidates’ surrogates think their best moment was. In general, I’ve never had somebody come back here and say, we, we didn’t really do all that well.
Sounds like the place to be, no?
CJR
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monicalee![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.cjr.org/nav-commenters.gif)
Thu 13 Dec 2007 09:07 AMWhy on earth would reporters need to go into the "Spin Room" in order to get their stories? Can't they interpret what they just heard without the PR flacks nudging them in their direction?
I'm not surprised that Candy Crowley rushes toward that room. I haven't forgotten her little love fests with GWB in 2004. A few well-placed pats on her head and strokes to her ego, and she gave up all pretense of objectivity, practically gushing when she talked about him. Apparently, this new breed of "journalists" didn't get the message about reporting and not rewarding.