McCain is fussing about media that he called his "base" & irony of his criticism of Obama going to Iraq after months of calling on him to do just that

From The Wall Street Journal:

John McCain used to jokingly call the media "my base." Now, he and his aides are becoming increasingly frustrated with what they see as a growing press infatuation with his rival, Barack Obama.

That agitation has grown more intense this week, with the attention paid to Sen. Obama's weeklong trip to Europe and the Middle East. Sen. McCain made a similar trip in March but didn't have traveling press -- and received very little attention. The Republican candidate's trip to Colombia in early July included the media but attracted scant outside interest.

Media executives defend their coverage, arguing that Sen. McCain has made it as far as he has in part because of the access he gave the media in the primary season, and the resulting coverage.

"It used to be the stories were 'everyone was in love with McCain -- he's on his bus, he schmoozes the reporters, they all give him a break,'" said Paul Friedman, senior vice president for news coverage at CBS. "That's the irony. These guys are now crying foul, and they've had the advantage of terrific relationships with the press."

Sen. McCain's criticism comes after months of calls for his opponent to visit Iraq, including a countdown on the Republican National Committee's Web site ticking off the more than 900 days since the Illinois senator visited the war zone.