I think Obama said it best to the assembled reporters last year at the 2009 White House Correspondents' Association dinner, “Most of you covered me...All of you voted for me."
Fawning press now gets cold shoulder from Obama
By: Byron York Chief Political Correspondent, May 25, 2010
Will Barack Obama go an entire year without holding a formal news conference? He's getting close: The president's last full-scale session with the press was on July 22, 2009, which was 307 days ago.
When Obama last held a big news conference, there had not yet been terrorist attacks at Fort Hood, Detroit, and Times Square. Scott Brown was an unknown Massachusetts state senator. There was no national health care bill, much less national health care law. Tiger Woods appeared to be a model family man.
A lot can happen in 307 days, which is far longer than George W. Bush or Bill Clinton ever went between news conferences.
In its defense, the White House says Obama answers a lot of questions from reporters, just not in the traditional news-conference setting. In fact, the president does a lot of one-on-one interviews, frequently with sympathetic reporters. ...
..."Speaking of press freedom, could you answer a couple of questions on BP?" CBS's Chip Reid asked Obama after the signing.
"You're certainly free to ask them, Chip," Obama said.
"Will you answer them?" Reid continued. "How about a question on Iran?"
"We won't be answering -- I'm not doing a press conference today," Obama said. "But we'll be seeing you guys during the course of this week. OK?"
And that was that. In the spirit of the day, Obama conceded that the press had the freedom to ask questions -- he just didn't have to answer them. ...
While Obama dodges questions, his spokesman stonewalls them.
...The situation amazes veterans of previous administrations. "I think it is astonishing that there isn't carping about this from the press every day," says former Bush White House press secretary Dana Perino. "Believe me, they would have nailed us to the wall."
...That's the attitude coming out of the Oval Office every day. Why does Obama do it? Because he can.
Why does a man hit a woman...because he's a low life....and he can.
He'll hold one tomorrow explaining why President Bush was solely responsible for Hurricane Katrina but he (Obama) has no responsibility for this oil spill.
ReplyDeleteAnd he'll call for a bipartisan commission on what is Bush's fault
ReplyDeleteC'mon guys - if Al Gore's divorce is Bush's fault - then the oil spill it too!!
ReplyDelete