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Two senior PBS correspondents used self-deprecating humor and their years of experience covering politics to analyze the media’s coverage of the presidential race at an event at the National Press Club this June.

Journalists Judy Woodruff and Ray Suarez, who both work for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, reflected on the historic primary season and guessed at what still lies ahead. The conversation, moderated by CNN special correspondent and GW professor Frank Sesno, launched GW’s yearlong series on the upcoming presidential election and transition.

The three journalists kicked off the night by predicting how the personalities of presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) would be portrayed in the media.

“The McCain swoon we saw in 2000 will repeat,” Suarez said. “You would think the man’s first name is Maverick.”

Despite criticisms that the media has focused on some more trivial issues, Woodruff argued that it was those small things that made a difference to the voters.

“Voting for the president is the most personal vote we cast,” Woodruff said. “Yes, issues matter but you ask yourself, is this someone I trust, someone I like? Can I stand to look at this man for four years on TV?”

Suarez argued that more vetting needed to be done for both candidates and that the issues at stake were too serious to ignore.

“Too much of this campaign has been about nothing, about nonsense,” Suarez said. “Flag pins and cleavage – just mind-numbing nonsense.”

Since the parties chose their presumptive nominees, the hot topic has been the candidates’ picks for vice president. The journalists agreed that despite pressure from former presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) supporters to add her to the Democratic ticket, both Obama and McCain have a wide-open field to choose from.

“We in the media love to guess about the VP picks,” Woodruff said. “But the truth is the people who know anything don’t talk and the people who talk don’t know anything.”

Sesno asked the pair to guess how race would factor into the election, now that Democrat Barack Obama has become the first black man to head a major party ticket.

“We will see on November 4 what role race will play,” Woodruff said. “I think we will see it can energize some but turn away others.”

But Suarez said recent polling – which says race is not a factor – might be inaccurate.

“I think what we will see is people trying to search for reasons to say they aren’t voting for him – anything besides race,” Suarez said. “It will be a factor whether they admit it to the pollsters or not.”