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Obama Takes the Pillow, Not the Bait

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February 27, 2008 11:03 PM

ABC News' Sunlen Miller reports: Barack Obama came to the press part of the plane for the first time since the airing of the now infamous "Saturday Night Live" last weekend featuring a parody of himself and Sen. Hillary Clinton. In the skit, members of the press corps ask Obama if he's comfortable, a joke touching on the criticisms that the press is too easy on him.

Hillary Clinton herself brought up the skit during Tuesday night’s debate. "If anybody saw ‘Saturday Night Live,’ you know, maybe we should ask Barack if he's comfortable and needs another pillow," she said.

The pillow talk made a reemergence during Obama’s trip to the back of the press plane on the flight from Dallas to Austin, Texas.

Obama, greeting reporters, was handed a small white airline pillow by The Washington Times' Christina Bellantoni. "Would you like a pillow?" she asked.

Obama’s reaction was zilch, nada, nothing. He took the pillow -- but not the bait. He handed the pillow back discreetly with no reaction.

The senator shook a few print reporters' hands -– told a few bloggers he doesn’t read blogs –- and then headed to the back of the plane -– a part he dubbed "the fun part of the plane" -– where the photographers sit.

An Obama staffer quickly ushered the candidate back to his portion of the plane as it was time to land –- and before any more questions, or pillows, came his way.

February 27, 2008 in Bush, George W., Kucinich, Dennis | Permalink | User Comments (49)

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FIREFIGHTER...
BARACK IS COOL, CALM AND COLlECTED...
WHAT WE NEED FROM SOMEONE RUNNING OUR BELOVED USA !!!!

Posted by: Gabrielle | Feb 28, 2008 10:08:21 AM

Let me get this right ... you, the media, have not handed pillows but "goose down" to this moron and his criminal pundits for ths last 7 years. Now that you find that you may have to earn your keep you are angry that Sen Obama has learned well from you, the media, how you should be handled.
Were I President Obama one of my first acts would be to close down the Press-Room at the White House ... after all, it hasn't really been put to any good use for the last 8 years.

Posted by: EuroRant | Feb 28, 2008 11:13:57 AM

Obama has no freaking sese of humor and neither do you supporters of his.

At least Hillary has a sense of HUMOR and a sense of what can actually be accomplished in this country. Can't say the same for Mr. Obama though.

Posted by: Hillary DID help NY: Courtney WNY State | Feb 28, 2008 11:15:35 AM

i assure you that his reaction would have been a lot different if the cameras were there

Posted by: nydem | Feb 28, 2008 11:41:06 AM

Negative press coverage? What other candidate in the history of presidential elections has lost ELEVEN contests in a row and is still considered a candidate in the running? Correct me if I'm wrong, but Howard Dean lost about 4 contests before the press decided he had lost the election. If anything, the press is being overly optimistic about the organization that was once a presidential campaign. Yes, they point out her campaign's problems and weaknesses, but if Obama had lost 11 contests in a row they probably wouldn't even bother to mention his name. Grow up Hillary, and take responsibility for the fact that your arrogance and sense of entitlement going into the first caucuses is what ruined your campaign, not the "bias towards Obama!"

Posted by: Denny | Feb 28, 2008 11:49:04 AM

Face it volks, Obama is a number larger than Hillary and she and Bill have just have got to accept that.

Posted by: coatesmoe | Feb 28, 2008 1:04:45 PM

I wouldn't take a pillow from a Washington Times reporter either. I wouldn't even let them on the plane. They're just like Fox, all about the GOP. No matter what Senator Obama's reaction would have been, they would have told a different story.

Posted by: Carolyn Grace | Feb 28, 2008 1:43:28 PM

Denny, you make an excellent point. She loses 11 races in a row and she's complaining about media bias? She should be happy that the media hasn't totally counted her out now.

Posted by: Rainy | Feb 28, 2008 1:45:38 PM

The Clintons weren't complaining about the press when they were reporting biasly on Bush. They weren't complaining when they were saying HRC is the inevitable candidate...SHE messed up and like anyone who is a sore loser and can't accept they failed, they look for scapegoats...in this case the media. There was high expectations for her being the established candidate and SHE failed. Now she is resorting to playing the victim card. As a woman, playing the victim card is one reason women are treatedly with double standards...so HRC's latest tactic isn't helping her but more importantly isn't helping women at all.

Posted by: nsvp | Feb 28, 2008 1:45:42 PM

Dear Jonti,

Kinda hard to imagine your surfing managed to turn up an ANC News blog but not Obama's website.

And your bookstores-- I guess they not sell his book.

Time to call Karl, erm, I mean Hillary and let it be known the tactic backfired.

yours kindly,
Informed American Voter

Posted by: SE Croft | Feb 28, 2008 2:04:56 PM

Where are your manners? Didn't your parents teach you to "Treat Others as You Would Want to be Treated"?

You are starting to behave like Republicans.

We are better than that!

Lift Each Other Up -- Not Tear Each Other Down, please.

Posted by: Tired Of The Foolishness | Feb 28, 2008 2:16:35 PM

Amazing. Obama has no humor...Obama's not this...I don't know anything about this guy. Whine Whine whine.

Does anyone in this country read books anymore?

I wanted to know more about the man so I read his books. I've been doing that since I was 14 and curious about Winston Churchill.

No wonder Hillary depends on the uneducated vote. They don't read her ghost-written books.

Posted by: JB | Feb 28, 2008 2:25:23 PM

Jonti, from UK: Go to the Obama website and read his position papers. Read one of his books, for instance Dreams From My Father, to see how far back his thinking and knowledge of politics goes. Obama majored in international relations as an undergraduate, and has traveled widely since then. Obama simply understands that the way to communicate about complex policies is not through speeches before large crowds, yielding television sound bites without subtlety. He understands how to organize large groups of people to create the conditions for change. That's why he has over a million individual contributors and why, when the call went out, 150,000 volunteers showed up in Texas to help his campaign there, a fact that is still below the radar of mainstream media news.

Posted by: Margy Rockenbeck | Feb 28, 2008 2:28:08 PM

Obama is Obama and what you see is what you get UNLIKE Hillary who has been weepy Hillary, dog fight Hillary, geeky Hillary, angry Hillary and the list goes on..and thats just the last 5 days!

Posted by: Sam | Feb 28, 2008 3:04:58 PM

ann. tx. and others. I just finished reading Sen. Obama's book. If you really do want to hear about his plans, please read it. You will be surprised at how insightful and well-thought out his plans are. I don't think America is ready for a reasonable foreign policy though. And people like you prefer to complain than get motivated. (BTW: obama predicted all of these kinds of criticisms in his book in 2006)

Posted by: lem | Feb 28, 2008 4:20:40 PM

Obama is an actor and that is why he can act so calm and collected. This is all about him and his ego! Have you ever noticed how his head tilts back and to the side when his "people" are clapping? You can almost see his head swell right before your eyes. On the VERY DAY of his swearing in as a state representative he was already jockeying for support to get into the Senate, as reported on 20/20. I also read in one of the newspapers that when he got to the Senate he immediately went to Ted Kennedy to gain his support for the next leap he intended to take which was the Presidency. There is nothing here about his wanting to service the people. This is a cold and calculating man trying to put himself in a position of power. He has pulled quite a con, but when people finally figure it out it will be too late.

Posted by: Firefighter | Feb 28, 2008 4:28:13 PM

I just want a report for once to ask BHO why he doesn't like his name? And how can he defend the argument that calling him with his full name, BHO is an insult or races? I don't see HRC hating her name or JCM, MLK, JFK, or BJC, or RFK? If Obama is for real then he should accept his own name and be proud of it. Otherwise, he is one BIG fraud and doesn't deserve to be a nominee or president.

Posted by: eJ | Feb 28, 2008 6:09:30 PM

Firefighter: I don't recall Senator Obama complaining about those who have used his full name. His name is part of his heritage, one that I imagine he is extremely proud of (if he wasn't, he probably would have changed his name years ago). Instead, McCain and now, the Republican Party have denounced the use. Why? Because they know why racists cloaked in political garb, such as Bill Cunningham, use his full name. They use his name to stir up fear, to insinuate that he is Muslim, anti-American, and un-patriotic. If you believe that the use in the case of Bill Cunningham was innocent you are, maybe...a fear monger in the likeness of BC, Limbaugh, etc.

Posted by: Terrence JLT | Feb 28, 2008 7:39:28 PM

"The fun part of the plane" LOL Where he doesn't have to deal with reporters.

Seems he doesn't like them... he has a reputation for avoiding them.

Posted by: multiprompt | Feb 28, 2008 9:01:02 PM

I'll say Hillary Clinton has a sense of humor, have you seen the way she's been running her campaign, I can't stop laughing.

Posted by: fool me once | Feb 28, 2008 9:27:07 PM

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