Paul_Yates's Blog

Contrasting media strategies were on display in the first hours of the general election campaign for the U.S. Senate seat held by Georgia's Saxby Chambliss. The Republican incumbent convened the political press corps at his campaign office near the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Sen. Chambliss spoke at length, without notes, on a range of issues. He took questions from reporters for about thirty minutes.

Hours later, Jim Martin, the newly-minted Democratic nominee, held his own event outside his office at the Biltmore in Midtown. Mr. Martin read a statement and walked away as reporters called out questions and cameras recorded his quick exit.

Jim Martin has been an unusually accessible politician. Declining to answer press questions is no crime. Nevertheless, it's a curious strategy for a challenger facing an uphill fight with little money. The incumbent has already lined up millions of dollars worth of prime TV commercial time for his message.