I can’t possibly imagine why Joe Klein of Time, a noted Obama shill who has slammed McCain, is reportedly banned from Team McCain’s plane. He supposedly joins the ranks of Maureen Dowd, another lefty shill.

“I’ve done nine presidential campaigns and this is the first time this has ever happened to me,” Klein said. “I was even allowed—I won’t say welcomed—on the Clinton plane in the summer of 1996 after I was revealed as the author of Primary Colors.”

“I rode with McCain during the primaries, but not since I asked him—at a June press conference—whether he really believed Ahmadinejad was the ‘leader’ of Iran, since he has no control over foreign policy or the nuclear program,” Klein continued. “That was when they suddenly told me that I hadn’t called in time to get secret service clearance. (I had called more than a day in advance.)”

Klein himself notes that he’s an opinion columnist and that other Time reporters have seats on the plane. Team McCain staffers also continue to answer his questions, Klein says. James Joyner writes:

Klein has been pretty brutal to McCain, questioning his decency and integrity, so it’s not entirely surprising that the campaign’s not rolling out the red carpet.  Still, this is just gobsmackingly stupid.  McCain made his reputation largely on the strength of a warm relationship with the press corps, granting them unprecedented access.   It makes no sense to alienate name brand columnists — and their peers — by being petty.

Why? What could McCain possibly have to lose by alienating the media? What, are they going to start writing baseless stories meant to smear him? Too late. Are they going to unfairly cover him while whitewashing his opponent’s controversies? Again, too late. Are they going to whine about his lack of access? Again, too late. It seems to me that he’s limiting the amount of fodder Klein has access to.

You don’t keep inviting someone who assaults you to parites because his friends, who also assault you every chance they get, might feel alienated. You limit the amount of access they have to you.