Of course ABC ran a hit piece. As they have done with Palin, etc. But most people aren’t on FR or Drudge or keeping up with what’s really going on. They barely have time (or the interest) and just tune in to 15 minutes of the TV news. And when they hear, “the Governor just ‘vanished’ last Thursday and won’t return calls” in the incredulous-sounding voice of Gibson, Couric, Williams, they think the Gov’s a nutcase, untrustworthy, strange, has issues, and on and on.
......and that’s exactly whom the nightly news is designed to influence - the voter who forms opinions from sound bytes and snippets heard or headlines read in passing.