Paul_Yates's Blog

After avoiding the endorsement game for months, Gov. Sonny Perdue stepped up to the microphone for Sen. John McCain. Speaking in Washington, the governor said it was time to remove the "presumptive label" in describing Sen. McCain as the Republican nominee.

The Arizona senator's status at this moment is remarkable on a number levels. It's a testament to tenacity and good luck. And, by the way, it provides strong evidence that friendly relations with the media make a big difference.

I got a taste of the McCain style during a brief journey aboard his campaign bus, the Straight Talk Express, just before the Super Tuesday primaries last month. Elbow-to-elbow with local reporters, the senator took one-on-one questions guaranteed to be featured prominently on the evening news. Such encounters are standard operating procedure on the campaign trail. But the degree of access and repartee as practiced on the Straight Talk is a significant departure from other, tightly-scripted campaigns.

Bantering with the press may not an essential ingredient to political success. But it is an ingredient.