Meg Whitman, in California, Models Better Behavior for Linda McMahon in Connecticut

I live in California. The lead story in today’s San Francisco Chronicle is headlined “Whitman lays out an agenda of reform.” The subhead: “She admits it was ‘a mistake’ to avoid political reporters.”

Meg Whitman, of course, is the billionaire former CEO of eBay who is spending scores of millions of dollars in her campaign for the California governorship.

The money paragraph of the story (viewable at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/03/13/MNT51CF7CD.DTL): “She made the comments after facing blistering criticism from Republicans and others about her refusal to take questions from reporters invited to a campaign event Tuesday in Oakland. On Friday, she called that ‘a mistake’ and promised more interviews and access.”

Linda McMahon, the centimillionaire former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment who is spending scores of millions of dollars in her campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut, likewise has been criticized for hiding behind packaged events and handlers.

It would behoove McMahon to take the step Whitman has taken. And it would serve the public for political reporters in Connecticut to press her to do so.

Irv Muchnick