When asked tough questions, it’s best to become agitated, refuse to answer in a coherent manner, ask “Is this a joke?” and then impose an absurdly stifling restriction on the outlet responsible for the challenging interview (make that two outlets).  Because banning journalists who ask tough questions is exactly what our democracy needs, right?  Wrong.

But, I suppose we cannot blame Biden, alone, for his childish reaction.  Until now, the press has continuously stated and restated its love and adoration for the most liberal candidate in history to seek the American presidency.  So, after months of the media doting all over Barack Obama and company it’s no wonder Joe Biden was surprised when he was confronted with journalistic integrity.

So, for the sake of brevity I must give Barbara West of WFTV the William H. Hallowell III Journalist of the Year award for actually doing her job.  Journalists are supposed to challenge candidates, not ignore their inconsistencies and blunders.

Perhaps the most perplexing issue at hand is not Biden’s absurd reaction, rather it is the hypocrisy that stems from the Obama camp concerning transparency and access.  After weeks of criticism from Obama and Biden over the McCain campaign’s shielding of Gov. Sarah Palin, we’re seeing a side of Obama that is pretty opaque.  And it’s utterly ironic.

After all, isn’t this the man who promised to air our national laundry in the most public of all forums (don’t get me wrong; I’m all for transparency, but I am of the opinion that Obama is more about instilling pathos in his followers than he is about taking action)?

The rest of the transparency community might be duped, but I’m not.  Sure, the McCain camp shielded Palin from the media and that was a catastrophic mistake, but to literally prevent certain outlets from interviewing campaign officials – that, my friends, is communistic at best.  This isn’t China.  Someone better get Obama and Biden the memo.