Hiding Palin behind 'deference'

John McCain's campaign essentially confirmed over the weekend what some had suspected: Media access to Sarah Palin, would-be vice president of the United States, will be tightly controlled.

Troublemakers need not apply.

And how will we know those troublemakers? They will be the ones unwilling to treat the governor of Alaska with what campaign manager Rick Davis called "some level of respect and deference."

Deference?

The dictionary definitions I find begin with "respectful submission" and "yielding."

That might be the right approach for a reporter lucky enough to interview McCain's 96-year-old mother, Roberta. (If only our politicians were so plain-spoken.)

But it would be wrong -- and, dare I say it, even sexist -- to suggest that Sarah Barracuda is too meek for a little back-and-forth with the denizens of the Fourth Estate.

Early this year, voters (and a certain "Saturday Night Live" skit) rightly smacked news outlets for falling captive to the Barack Obama "rock star" narrative. They demanded to know more about the Democrat than that he had a knack for drawing big crowds and delivering inspiring speeches.

Those complaints and a time-honored primary season tradition -- reporters boring in on candidates after they become front-runners -- helped spur a tougher look at Obama. Stories examined his fundraising, picking over his ties to shady fundraiser Antoin Rezko; detailed his apparent comfort in the bare-knuckle world of Chicago politics; and described his awkward attempts to downplay his opposition to the military "surge" in Iraq, even as it appeared to be having some success.

The Alaska governor is helping McCain attract boisterous crowds. Her convention speech last week drew sparkling reviews, even from the mainstream media organizations that Republicans claim are so unfair. Plenty of TV talking heads say Palin revived McCain's maverick profile -- and that doesn't seem to be hurting his poll numbers.

The sound you hear in the distance is the wailing of liberals, desperately afraid that Palin won't be forced to answer serious questions.

Maybe. But I think the McCain-Palin camp can only play hide-the-candidate for so long before they'll look like they don't think their vice presidential pick is ready to lead on Day One.

The first test of Palin, untethered (to the campaign or a prepared text), will come later this week when she sits down with ABC News anchor Charles Gibson for an interview in Alaska. It will air on Thursday's evening news.