Texas governor refuses to meet with editorial boards

Texas governor and re-election candidate Rick Perry has refused to meet with any of the editorial boards of newspapers across Texas. Perry told Jay Root of The Associated Press, "It was a calculated decision, but you know the world is really changing, I mean, the way people get their information, who they listen to, etc. Put it all on the balance beam and the balance was toward not doing the editorial boards." (Photo of Rick Perry, by Laura Skelding, Austin American-Statesman)

Editorial boards have "responded to Perry's snub with fury, accusing him of doing a disservice to voters by refusing to submit to unscripted questioning," writes Root. The Texas Press Association and the Texas Daily Newspaper Association issued a joint statement: "Governor Rick Perry’s refusal to meet with editorial boards or debate his opponent says a lot more about him than the state of the newspaper industry. He’s made a cynical campaign calculation to duck the hard questions he knows he would face in these settings. That’s not fair to millions of Texans that want to gather as much information as possible before making tough decisions at the ballot box that affect their families and communities. Whether Governor Perry wants to acknowledge it or not, newspapers, either in print or online editions, remain a major news source for Texans. The more than 500 community and metro newspapers in Texas remain relevant and are still the original source of information seen by Texans online and on the airwaves."

At least one other candidate has refused to meet with editorial writers. Florida GOP gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott shunned editorial boards in the primary and has yet to schedule any meetings as he faces Democrat Alex Sink, according to the AP report. One Republican strategist calls the meeting between candidate and editorial board the "second most stressful thing a campaign has to go through," behind debate preparation. (Read more)