Going, that is, as far away from the Chicago press corps as he can get. Obama's friend and fundraiser Tony Rezko is on trial for extortion in Chicago, and reporters wanted to know about conflicting accounts of assurances that one of Obama's spokesmen allegedly gave the Canadian government that his anti-NAFTA speeches are just political talk. So an impromptu Chicago press conference turned ugly when Obama cut it off after only a few questions:

Ed Morrissey writes:

It appears that the local press has managed to do what the national media could not — treat Obama as a politician and not a secular messiah. They asked tough questions about Obama’s political connections to a fixer and his campaign’s outright false answers on an Obama adviser’s contacts with Canadian diplomats regarding Obama’s rhetoric on NAFTA. Instead of handling the questions calmly and patiently, Obama accused the media of having an agenda against him, and then angrily stalked off.

Many have wondered whether Obama has the experience and temperament necessary to make it on the national scene; maybe the question should be whether he can last in his home town.

PAUL adds: Give the guy a break. He answered "eight questions."

To comment on this post, go here.

Posted by John at 9:29 PM  |    |