Laurie Robert is rolling her eyes at those of us who believe that the media--and especially the Republic--are critical of Martha McSally's recent CNN dust up because she is a woman. However, to prove the point, you need look no further than the Republic's treatment of John McCain's temper.
Not answer questions? Ha, McCain actually banned Republic reporters from his campaign bus. In 2000 Republic reporter Kris Mayes had to follow the Straight Talk Express around New Hampshire in a rented Ford Taurus.
Did the Republic describe McCain's actions as "hissy fits"? Of course not, he was the Maverick. but hissy fit is the term that Montini used to describe McSally's response to Manu's question.
If you want to see more examples of the Republic running interference for McCain check out this portion of Dan Nowicki's eulogy.
Sure, this can be discounted a bit because McCain had just passed away and your not supposed to say anything bad about the dead (Unless you are Bill Goodykoontz bringing up a 16 year old rape allegation against Kobe Bryant, but that's not sexism, it's the other type of pernicious "ism" that guys like Goodykoontz don't recognize.)
Notice how Nowicki rationalizes McCain's behavior.
Short temper not seen firsthand
Years later, it was a column I wrote related to McCain's POW experience that caused a rare rift in our professional relationship.
McCain and The Republic over the years often had a rocky, even hostile, relationship. But I believe he realized the newspaper had a duty to perform for its readers and his constituents.
I personally found McCain straightforward, helpful and probably more accessible to me than he needed to be.
When I started covering his presidential campaign in 2007, everybody involved was ready to leave behind the bitterness of the past and move forward, but the relationship remained icy. I remember telling McCain's nascent campaign operation that The Republic just wanted to be treated like any other news organization. They agreed, and the thaw began.
Over the years, I had countless conversations with McCain about almost every political topic under the sun. He would usually address me as "Danny." Sometimes, he would call me a "jerk," but with him, it was a term of affection.