Barack Obama was swarmed by media as he arrived in Baghdad Monday for a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
The same day, Obama’s Republican presidential rival John McCain arrived in Manchester, N.H. As his plane taxied to a stop on the tarmac, he was greeted by just a single reporter and a photographer, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.
McCain was in the state to speak in Rochester on Tuesday. Despite the media’s apparent lack of interest in the McCain campaign, spokesman Jeff Grappone said staffers were prepared for an “overflow” crowd at the Rochester Opera House.
Meanwhile in the Middle East, the press eagerly followed every step of Obama’s trip to Iraq.
After a stop in the southern city of Basra, his delegation traveled to Baghdad, where a red carpet was unfurled outside Maliki's residence, The Washington Post and other papers reported.
The press covered Obama's visit with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, and his meeting with Iraq's Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi.
Obama later toured the U.S. military hospital inside the Green Zone and took a helicopter ride over Baghdad with Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.
McCain's campaign on Tuesday lashed out at the U.S. media's "fascination" with Obama.
"It's pretty obvious that the media has a bizarre fascination with Barack Obama. Some may even say it's a love affair," the Arizona senator's campaign said in an e-mail.
"The media is in love with Barack Obama. If it wasn't so serious, it would be funny."
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