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You are here: Home / Beltway Drama Queens

Beltway Drama Queens

by John Cole|  April 13, 20105:29 pm| 99 Comments

This post is in: Assholes, Our Failed Media Experiment

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The #dickwhisperer is concerned:

World leaders arriving in Washington for President Obama’s Nuclear Security Summit must have felt for a moment that they had instead been transported to Soviet-era Moscow.

They entered a capital that had become a military encampment, with camo-wearing military police in Humvees and enough Army vehicles to make it look like a May Day parade on New York Avenue, where a bicyclist was killed Monday by a National Guard truck.

In the middle of it all was Obama — occupant of an office once informally known as “leader of the free world” — putting on a clinic for some of the world’s greatest dictators in how to circumvent a free press.

The only part of the summit, other than a post-meeting news conference, that was visible to the public was Obama’s eight-minute opening statement, which ended with the words: “I’m going to ask that we take a few moments to allow the press to exit before our first session.”

Reporters for foreign outlets, many operating in repressive countries, got the impression that the vaunted American freedoms are not all they’re cracked up to be.

Sorry you weren’t allowed to report on what kind of cheese they ate while negotiating privately ABOUT NUCLEAR SECURITY, you jackass. By the way, this is what he is really upset about:

Over the weekend, Obama broke with years of protocol and slipped off to a soccer game without the “protective” pool that is always in the vicinity of the president in case the unthinkable occurs. Obama joked about it later to Pakistan’s prime minister, saying reporters “were very upset.”

Clowns.

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Reader Interactions

99Comments

  1. 1.

    Cacti

    April 13, 2010 at 5:32 pm

    The uppity negro is gettin’ his airs on again.

  2. 2.

    beltane

    April 13, 2010 at 5:33 pm

    Where was this concern for so-called freedom during the Bush administration? And why does Millbank put “leader of the free world” in quotes? Is he some kind of America hater?

  3. 3.

    Shalimar

    April 13, 2010 at 5:33 pm

    What good are a “protective” pool of reporters if the unthinkable occurs? Am I supposed to believe that Dana would take a bullet for anyone?

  4. 4.

    dr. luba

    April 13, 2010 at 5:33 pm

    Because, you know, Bush era events were always open to the public and to journalists of all stripes. I remember how much Bush enjoyed interacting with the press, and taking questions from them for hours………Not. Also, too.

  5. 5.

    demkat620

    April 13, 2010 at 5:34 pm

    What a bunch of babies.

  6. 6.

    Paula

    April 13, 2010 at 5:34 pm

    TO WATCH HIS KID’S SOCCER GAME!!! Fuckwits.

  7. 7.

    The Main Gauche of Mild Reason

    April 13, 2010 at 5:36 pm

    Why does Obama not worship at the altar of the journalistic fourth branch of government? Why does he hate freedom?

  8. 8.

    geg6

    April 13, 2010 at 5:37 pm

    WTF is that asswipe whining about now? And since when have sensitive negotiations on nuclear weapons been conducted in front of the press? Please, Dana, you stupid fuck, point me to an instance during the entire nuclear era that this type of completely public negotiation on nuclear arsenals happened. Just one. I have time. I can wait.

  9. 9.

    bemused

    April 13, 2010 at 5:38 pm

    Every day it’s just one jackass after another.

  10. 10.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 13, 2010 at 5:38 pm

    Milbank seems to think that “freedom of the press” = freedom for the press to be in the POTUS’ face every second of every day. I laughed my ass off the other day when I heard about Obama slipping the surly bonds of reporters to go to the soccer game, pumped my fist, and said “good on ya, Mr. President!”

    Also too, what beltane said about the stupid scare quotes or whatever the hell they’re supposed to be around “leader of the free world.”

  11. 11.

    beltane

    April 13, 2010 at 5:38 pm

    Someone ought to write an updated version of the Inferno; it would be interesting to see which circle of hell the beltway media would be put in.

  12. 12.

    Rhoda

    April 13, 2010 at 5:40 pm

    This is a theme; and they seem really pissed off at Gibbs who’s in charge of bringing down the hammer I guess. The last part of the feature they did on him today was about how the WH and the president disregard the press.

    “Apologies for the delays, guys,” he said.
    Then he dispensed with the niceties. By and large, positive coverage has always been a fact of life in the Obama universe, so it’s not surprising that the administration’s press secretary, especially one who is personally close to the president, is less interested in wooing the reporters in the room than sparring with them.Gibbs, who looks older than his 39 years, had on one of his favored pastel ties. He frequently made careful, no-smudge adjustments of his glasses and held a silver pen in his right hand but never used it. He gamely took a question about Rahm Emanuel lobbying then-Rep. Eric Massa in the nude, and then wanly addressed further grievances about lack of access. Chip Reid of CBS News challenged Gibbs on why the president seemed to not be calling enough members of Congress in support of health-care reform. The press secretary volleyed and then abruptly moved on.”I guess you didn’t like that one,” Reid observed.

    You should read the whole thing; lots of nice bitchy asides about Gibbs and the WH not caring about the MSM in the story. The whole thing is basically about Gibbs not doing his job because he’s looking towards his future. I didn’t put it together that they want him gone from the podium until I read Milbanks story. I guess this is them prodding him on.

  13. 13.

    jl

    April 13, 2010 at 5:40 pm

    Saw this in the wikipedia article on Milbank:

    “After Bush won the 2000 election, Karl Rove asked the Washington Post not to assign Milbank to cover White House news.”

    Clearly the Obama administration deserves comparison to the Soviet Union or a ‘stan under the thumb of a ruthless dicatator, or Sauid Arabia.

    Did Milbank write anything similar about Bush II, or were all the WH T-ball games open to the press, with drinkees and snackipoos?

    That is an honest question about whether Milbank wrote anything similar about Bush II? Did he? Enquiring minds… etc., you know. I am curious about it.

    Edit: meant ‘stan under the thumb of a ruthless tyrant. I think ‘stans have tyrants, not dictators, but correct me if I am wrong.

  14. 14.

    Cacti

    April 13, 2010 at 5:40 pm

    @The Main Gauche of Mild Reason:

    He’s violating the edicts of Article I, Section 2, Jackson 5

    “The Executive shall at all times be accompanied by a protective press pool, who couldn’t actually protect him from anything.”

  15. 15.

    dmsilev

    April 13, 2010 at 5:41 pm

    @beltane: No, that’s the wrong question to ask. The right question is “what circle are we in, that listening to them is our punishment?”

    dms

  16. 16.

    middlewest

    April 13, 2010 at 5:41 pm

    Aw man, I was just coming here to post a link to this piece of crap. It turned me into an O-bot all over again!

  17. 17.

    Midnight Marauder

    April 13, 2010 at 5:47 pm

    This is actually quite tragic, since there is no other way for stenographers noble journalists and reporters like Milbank to find out what was discussed at these private sessions, other than witnessing them first-hand, of course. Not because other options like dogged research on your own time and talking to other sources besides high-ranking administration officials don’t exist; but rather, for people like Milbank, if you can’t get the information story and angle you need via official access…well then, I guess there was no story in the first place.

    In the middle of it all was Obama—occupant of an office once informally known as “leader of the free world”—putting on a clinic for some of the world’s greatest dictators in how to circumvent a free press.

    No.

  18. 18.

    geg6

    April 13, 2010 at 5:47 pm

    middlewest @16: You have it exactly right. I am not one who runs around proclaiming my Obotness, mainly because he has disappointed me mightily in numerous areas. But nothing puts me back into my Fall 2008 Obot mode than the fucks that make up the WH press corps or, really, anyone who is a citizen of the Village. Well, except Republicans, including their chromosomally damaged cousins, the Teabaggers. It makes me pull out the Obama campaign buttons and signs all over again.

  19. 19.

    beltane

    April 13, 2010 at 5:48 pm

    @dmsilev: Hey, we at least deserve the memory of doing whatever horrible thing we did to these people in our past life that makes us deserve this. Let us just assume we once invited them to a fake prom or something.

  20. 20.

    David in NY

    April 13, 2010 at 5:48 pm

    But, but, we’ll never know who won the soccer game!

  21. 21.

    Brian J

    April 13, 2010 at 5:49 pm

    I have virtually no idea if whatever security measures that are being implemented are necessary. My guess is yes, but I can’t be sure.

    I can, however, be almost certain that if the administration had a hand in relaxing some security measures, they’d be raked over the coals for it. And if said hypothetical lax standards let to some sort of “incident,” I don’t think I have to tell you the calls for his resignation would come faster than a fat kid to the dinner table when desert is being served.

  22. 22.

    GambitRF

    April 13, 2010 at 5:52 pm

    So were there a bunch of reporters crammed into the fighter jet that landed on the aircraft carrier with Bush inside of it? In case he could use them as a flotation device or something?

  23. 23.

    kay

    April 13, 2010 at 5:52 pm

    Obama is a critic. He says it constantly: they’re obsessed with who is winning the day, they won’t focus on substance, they worship celebrity and the horse race. He has taken to bringing the audience in on this theme at rallies. If you watched the last health care rally he was all but jeering at them, and the crowd really liked it. That was real laughter.
    It has an edge to it. It’s mocking, and aggressive.
    I don’t think this President is going to be giving them all nicknames, like the last. Nope.
    I recognize what Millbank is saying here, underneath all the whining: he’s saying the political press have a job to do and Obama has a job to do, and Obama has to facilitate them doing their job. The problem with that is it’s fairly clear Obama doesn’t think they’re doing a good job.
    I don’t see either side backing down :)

  24. 24.

    Josh

    April 13, 2010 at 5:54 pm

    Let’s just face it: our media is filled with morons. Is it any wonder why young people venerate Jon Stewart?

    I’m not entirely sure what to do about it other than stage a coup d’etat at The Washington Post and fill it with writers from The Daily Show.

  25. 25.

    Flitterbic

    April 13, 2010 at 5:58 pm

    …negotiating privately ABOUT NUCLEAR SECURITY…

    We don’t need to know about this. But there’s been precious little about Michelle Obama’s arms lately. Have they gotten flabby? More muscular? I’d hate to be consumed by a mushroom cloud not having an update.

  26. 26.

    Nylund

    April 13, 2010 at 5:59 pm

    Remember when the Bush administration would either fence of people into remote “free speech zones”? Remember when protesters were rounded up in NYC and put into chemical filled warehouses in what the press called “Gitmo on the Hudson” where they suffered without ever being given a reason for why they were being held?

    Apparently that is the sort of “freedom” we’ve lost in this country.

  27. 27.

    Phoenician in a time of Romans

    April 13, 2010 at 5:59 pm

    Well, let’s consider it from their point of view. If something happened to Obama without the press pool around him, we may not find out about it for weeks, possibly even months…

  28. 28.

    Anya

    April 13, 2010 at 6:01 pm

    I am not sure which I hate more — the villagers or McCain for foisting on us that queen of dingbats, Sarah Palin.

  29. 29.

    Tom Hilton

    April 13, 2010 at 6:01 pm

    @Paula: Of course, the wingnuts are now questioning whether there really was a soccer game…

  30. 30.

    cleek

    April 13, 2010 at 6:03 pm

    Reporters for foreign outlets, many operating in repressive countries, got the impression that the vaunted American freedoms are not all they’re cracked up to be.

    now if only American reporters would get that impression.

  31. 31.

    Nellcote

    April 13, 2010 at 6:03 pm

    @kay:

    Obama has to facilitate them doing their job.

    Why? If they can’t do their damn job when they have access, why is it up to the Prez. to help them? Is this some sort of Villager Heritage thing?

  32. 32.

    D-Chance.

    April 13, 2010 at 6:04 pm

    Ruh-roh.

    Well, this explains why Cole is all pissy today…

  33. 33.

    marion

    April 13, 2010 at 6:05 pm

    I truly don’t understand the function of the “White House Press Corps”. They have their own assigned offices supplied by us, they bicker with each other and the press secretary like children on the playground, ask meaningless questions trying to work up a story and print the Administration’s press releases. Their manners are deplorable and get worse. And there are dozens and dozens of them.
    Meanwhile, there are real stories all around the government that nobody covers because news organizations can’t afford to.

  34. 34.

    kay

    April 13, 2010 at 6:08 pm

    I also understand why Obama is perhaps a little bitter.
    Hell, I’m bitter. I think the health care “debate” was a goddamn joke. No one in this country has any idea what’s in that law, and the only thing the press talks about is how it’s POLLING, or how Democrats didn’t EXPLAIN it. Don’t they have some role there?
    Are they ever going to get around to reading it? They better get cracking. As we heard 50,000 times, it has a LOT of pages. That’s about as far as we got. LOTTA pages in that health care law!
    They let Palin and Gingrich make up shit for 3 days on the START treaty before they called them on it. Half the country probably believe Obama disarmed completely.
    I’d be mocking and derisive, too.

  35. 35.

    Comrade Dread

    April 13, 2010 at 6:10 pm

    Reporters for foreign outlets, many operating in repressive countries, got the impression that the vaunted American freedoms are not all they’re cracked up to be.

    Yeah, because I’m sure none of them had heard about the illegal surveillance, the renditions, the denial of habeas, the torture, and the massive executive power grabs of the previous regime, or experienced airport ‘security’ theater.

    Being denied access to nations discussing what to do with nuclear weapons clearly shows that we have lost our freedom.

    Also, Wolverines.

  36. 36.

    Irony Abounds

    April 13, 2010 at 6:11 pm

    I’m a bit baffled. I was just listening to a press conference that Obama held concerning the summit. So clearly Obama provided access to the press. Why would Obama talk to the press before the summit, however, when you do not even know what the results were or might be?

    More to the point, if the Washington press corps were the least bit interested in pursuing real journalism, rather than he-said/she-said, horse race, there are two sides to each coin type of drivel they have come to embrace, I might understand the concern. Absent that, however, the only thing we miss out on when Obama shuns the press is garbage anyhow.

  37. 37.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    April 13, 2010 at 6:15 pm

    @kay:

    I don’t think this President is going to be giving them all nicknames, like the last.

    Oh, but for a tire swing they would love Obama.

  38. 38.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    April 13, 2010 at 6:16 pm

    This is what happens when new orgs are after ratings generated stories when half the countries viewers are insane and will only tune into a Faux news outlet that provides them with the rotting red meat they crave.

    Having cornered half the market of warm viewer bodies, the others play catch up with a version of Faux News light, and the sane viewers of America have to turn to a more accurate fake news channel like Comedy Central.

    The Overton Window is a peep hole at the quarter porn arcade.

  39. 39.

    arguingwithsignposts

    April 13, 2010 at 6:17 pm

    Obama broke with years of protocol and slipped off to a soccer game without the “protective” pool that is always in the vicinity of the president in case the unthinkable occurs.

    WTF does that even mean?
    As @Shalimar above noted. It’s not like Milbanks or Tapper or Todd would step in front of the bullets.

    And what is “the unthinkable”? Assassination? A sudden national emergency?

    ETA: if you ever get the chance in DC, and you can get to the White House, check out that little lawn the WH press corps has set up. They sit around all day on their asses waiting for their 5 minute spot on the pundit shows, and doing their little dog-and-pony daily presser. They should all be sent out to report real stories, like McClatchey.

  40. 40.

    kay

    April 13, 2010 at 6:18 pm

    @Nellcote:

    No, but I do think he has to make some concessions to get them in the room. I think of it as a balance. Push-pull. I expect them to battle for access, and I expect him to push back. That’s the nature of the relationship, and that could work.
    I actually do want the press to watch him. Not when he’s playing basketball, or raising his daughter, but I do see their role. I think it’s really important. They can watch him like a hawk, as far as I’m concerned.
    That’s why I get so pissed off. I don’t think they’re useless. I think they’re absolutely essential.
    If I could offer them one suggestion it would be this: stop talking about yourselves. Stop making your role the story. Stop being so defensive and clubby. It excludes the reader or listener, and it infuriates me, because I don’t think that’s the job. I shouldn’t be thinking about them. They can’t play a starring role.

  41. 41.

    Zifnab

    April 13, 2010 at 6:19 pm

    @beltane: You’re not really a leader of the free world unless you are a Republican, dontchaknow.

    Besides, far be it for Milibank to pass up the opportunity to call Obama a communist.

  42. 42.

    Midnight Marauder

    April 13, 2010 at 6:20 pm

    @kay:

    Are they ever going to get around to reading it? They better get cracking. As we heard 50,000 times, it has a LOT of pages. That’s about as far as we got. LOTTA pages in that health care law!
    They let Palin and Gingrich make up shit for 3 days on the START treaty before they called them on it. Half the country probably believe Obama disarmed completely.
    I’d be mocking and derisive, too.

    That’s one thing I’ve always found irksome in the behavior and attitude of Villagers. The idea that people could be enraged or appalled at the Village’s complete lack of impetus for actually doing their jobs (and doing it in an productive and constructive manner). You are absolutely right, kay. The vast majority of this country has no idea what specifically is in this legislation, and the people primarily tasked with the duty to rectify that information gap are too busy talking about how no one knows what’s in the bill. GREAT JOB, TRADITIONAL MEDIA! Why wouldn’t someone like President Obama be absolutely irate and beyond frustrated with their performance after the debate on the Affordable Care Act?

  43. 43.

    MikeJ

    April 13, 2010 at 6:20 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts: They’ve seen the footage of Cronkite announcing the death of JFK a million times. If they were lucky enough to be around when a president got killed footage of *them* would be repeated over and over again forever.

  44. 44.

    Ash Can

    April 13, 2010 at 6:21 pm

    These princesses will never get it through their heads that it’s not all about them. If they were all like Jake Tapper, who showed up here and took a few lumps and has agreed to fact-checking, I’d at least have a little respect for them. It’s hard to respect grown men who immediately start bawling their heads off when they break a nail Robert Gibbs looks at them funny.

  45. 45.

    mai naem

    April 13, 2010 at 6:23 pm

    Did we really need to know that Obama went to the soccer game without the press or regular security? I believe in the First Amendment but seriously did any American really give a crap about Obama going to a soccer game? Doesn’t this just make him more vulnerable when there is another soccer game? This is what is treasonous. There is absolutely nothing nefarious about a father going to his kids soccer game.

  46. 46.

    Bad Horse's Filly

    April 13, 2010 at 6:23 pm

    @kay: I’ve been loving your comments lately. Just wanted you to know.

  47. 47.

    WereBear

    April 13, 2010 at 6:23 pm

    @kay:

    the political press have a job to do and Obama has a job to do, and Obama has to -facilitate them doing- make their job dead easy

    Fixed that for ya.

  48. 48.

    arguingwithsignposts

    April 13, 2010 at 6:24 pm

    Also, that bit about Gibbs sparring with them seems to suffer from historical amnesia regarding that dickface Ari Fleischer and his progeny in the Bush II administration. Fleischer’s scorn puts Gibbs to shame.

  49. 49.

    arguingwithsignposts

    April 13, 2010 at 6:26 pm

    @kay:

    I recognize what Millbank is saying here, underneath all the whining: he’s saying the political press have a job to do and Obama has a job to do, and Obama has to facilitate them doing their job.

    Except he doesn’t. It’s their job to do, not the president’s. The president’s job is to get his agenda put into law.

  50. 50.

    Bad Horse's Filly

    April 13, 2010 at 6:26 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts: Maybe we should protest them. Stand outside their little lawn with signs and bullhorns and tell them what dumb fucks we think they are. We could wear our BJ swag. Also.

  51. 51.

    arguingwithsignposts

    April 13, 2010 at 6:27 pm

    @Bad Horse’s Filly: Now that’s a protest I could get behind! We could get some Westboro style signs: God Hates WH Stenographers!

  52. 52.

    Comrade Dread

    April 13, 2010 at 6:28 pm

    Obama has to facilitate them doing their job.

    Or else they’d have to patiently find and cultivate reliable sources, do investigative work, and write facts.

    You know, do that whole journalism thing.

    And that is a whole lot harder than just printing whatever Obama says, pairing it up with a comment from the Republican stooge of the day, throwing in a few anonymous ‘some say’ statements implying something nefarious and evil, and then writing a “tell all” book with lots of bitchy, juicy gossip about court intrigues.

  53. 53.

    cleek

    April 13, 2010 at 6:29 pm

    Obama facilitates them doing their job by existing. they just make up the rest.

  54. 54.

    The Moar You Know

    April 13, 2010 at 6:29 pm

    So were there a bunch of reporters crammed into the fighter jet that landed on the aircraft carrier with Bush inside of it? In case he could use them as a flotation device or something?

    @GambitRF: I would totally support George Bush, without reservation, if he needed to use the press for a flotation device in case of an accident.

    Or, for that matter, if he just wanted to splash around in the pool for a while. Perhaps rest his beer on Milbank’s floating, drowned corpse. Soak up some rays.

    Yes, on this one matter I have finally found something I can unequivocally support George Bush on.

  55. 55.

    kay

    April 13, 2010 at 6:30 pm

    @Bad Horse’s Filly:

    Thanks. I always read and enjoy yours, too.

  56. 56.

    Mark S.

    April 13, 2010 at 6:34 pm

    I would imagine security would be pretty tight when you have fifty fucking heads of state meeting at the same location.

  57. 57.

    cxs

    April 13, 2010 at 6:36 pm

    Did you see that amazing story on Maddow last night about the Chilean uranium? I couldn’t believe how fascinating that was and when I went to check Google for more information, there were more stories about some stupid contract of Palin’s than this cleaning up nukes success story.

    Also second BHF on Kay’s comments.

  58. 58.

    kay

    April 13, 2010 at 6:37 pm

    @Comrade Dread:

    Give me a better word. I knew that was a poor choice. I don’t want him ducking them, is what I meant. I don’t know, really, how it works. I don’t want him forbidding them entry if it’s a public issue, although I see John’s point with negotiations, which probably have to be private. I expect them to make a lot of noise if he tries ducking, and I’d be on their side in that fight.
    Not soccer games. I’d like those girls to grow up and not be sad and crazy and feeling hunted. They should lay the hell off when he’s raising his kids, and they’re little kids, so he has to leave the house occasionally to raise them.

  59. 59.

    Redshift

    April 13, 2010 at 6:38 pm

    @kay:

    I recognize what Millbank is saying here, underneath all the whining: he’s saying the political press have a job to do and Obama has a job to do, and Obama has to facilitate them doing their job. The problem with that is it’s fairly clear Obama doesn’t think they’re doing a good job.

    I don’t think that’s quite it. The problem is that the job Milbank is whining about being able to do isn’t good for the country and is not the reason for the special protections the press is given in the Constitution. Obama doesn’t just think they’re not doing their job well, he thinks they’re doing the wrong job, and he’s not going to help them do that one, which pisses off people like Milbank.

    Consequently, I have to disagree with much of your analysis. What we have is not just a battle between access and concessions, we have a battle to get access which will then be employed for trivia that do not inform the public. I think that people in the position of our White House press corps could be essential, but the people we have there now have chosen to be useless, partly because decades of bullying by Republican administrations have shaped their behavior, and partly because doing the right job is a lot more work than playing the role of a courtier.

    I suspect that as in many other areas, the Obama administration is trying to change the rules, rather than just survive as well as possible under rules Republicans have created. Weirdly, all Republican presidents more or less openly hate the press and treat them like dirt, but the press respect them more. The Obama WH is supplying them with the information they need to actually do their jobs right and trying to treat them as professionals who are capable of thinking, and they whine because they’re not being supplied with lazy fluff material.

    I hope I’m right about this, and I hope it succeeds.

  60. 60.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    April 13, 2010 at 6:39 pm

    @dmsilev:

    It used to be said that journalism was the first draft of history. Now it is more like the slash fan-fic of history.

  61. 61.

    lamh31

    April 13, 2010 at 6:40 pm

    Ugh!!

    Anyone else hate CNN’s “This Just In” intro. It’s never really “just in” it actually more like we’ve been teasing this for bout an hour, and now we’ve “just” put it “in”to the program just now!

    Is CNN so hard up for the “breaking news” cred it used to have?

    I got some “just in” news for CNN:

    This “just in” apples are mosly red. This “just in” Wolf Blitzer is a douche. This “just in” Jack Cafferty is both curmudgeonly, and old…discuss.

  62. 62.

    El Cid

    April 13, 2010 at 6:41 pm

    If this had been Bush / Cheney clamping down and showing off their evil Soviet style occupation government on every corner, these fuckers would be talking about the awesome degree of muscle being shown to keep this meeting safe.

    Fuckers.

  63. 63.

    Scott

    April 13, 2010 at 6:41 pm

    Ye gods, I’m about ready to take out some ads with these media whores’ pictures on ’em.

    “To Whom It May Concern: Slug these guys good and hard, and you’ll get a free pizza. Put ’em in the hospital, and you get two pizzas. Do anything worse, and you’ll have to serve out a long prison sentence. Then you’ll get three pizzas.”

  64. 64.

    Mike in NC

    April 13, 2010 at 6:42 pm

    It’s not like Milbanks or Tapper or Todd would step in front of the bullets.

    This idea has a lot of merit!

  65. 65.

    Redshift

    April 13, 2010 at 6:46 pm

    @MikeJ: That’s it exactly. Calling it “protective” is the height of idiocy.

    I think most of the press knows that there is no news value in the White House press pool; the only information they get is what the press secretary tells them, and in the days of press releases being posted on the White House website, there are no more scoops there. The only perk of being in the press pool is that you get to be near the president if “something happens.” So naturally they’re pissy if there’s any moment where they’re denied that.

  66. 66.

    arguingwithsignposts

    April 13, 2010 at 6:48 pm

    @lamh31:

    This “just in” apples are mosly red. This “just in” Wolf Blitzer is a douche. This “just in” Jack Cafferty is both curmudgeonly, and old…discuss.

    We’ll have to leave it there.

  67. 67.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 13, 2010 at 6:48 pm

    @ThatLeftTurnInABQ:

    It used to be said that journalism was the first draft of history. Now it is more like the slash fan-fic of history.

    Wins the thread!

  68. 68.

    Redshift

    April 13, 2010 at 6:48 pm

    @ThatLeftTurnInABQ: LOL, yes!

  69. 69.

    PeakVT

    April 13, 2010 at 6:51 pm

    TO WATCH HIS KID’S SOCCER GAME. Fuckwits.

    Of course if Obama didn’t go to that game, it would be spun as him being a bad father.

    You just can’t win with the Heathers.

  70. 70.

    Redshift

    April 13, 2010 at 6:53 pm

    Gah! I looked into the trap! I went to the Milbank article to verify that the description of the press pool as “protective” was a direct quote (it is), and for some reason I took leave of my senses and clicked on the comments.

    Gah! Don’t do it! I’d post examples, but I’m trying to scrub the tide of stupid from my brain, so I don’t want to look again!

  71. 71.

    moe99

    April 13, 2010 at 6:56 pm

    @Irony Abounds:

    But FOX News cut away from the Obama presser so they could get back to Glenn Beck. Guess that showed the WH!

  72. 72.

    kay

    April 13, 2010 at 6:57 pm

    @Redshift:

    I suspect that as in many other areas, the Obama administration is trying to change the rules, rather than just survive as well as possible under rules Republicans have created.

    I agree with that. I think it started during the campaign, and it comes (partly) from Obama’s “scrappy” team overcoming what was the conventional wisdom. The people in that campaign knew that the conventional wisdom was way off with what was happening right in front of them, and the political press lost credibility with them as a result of that.

  73. 73.

    Cacti

    April 13, 2010 at 6:57 pm

    The most amusing part about Milbank’s catty little tantrum is the complete lack of irony in his complaints about Freedom of the Press…

    That are made via a large daily newspaper, and without any fear of State reprisal.

  74. 74.

    Redshift

    April 13, 2010 at 6:58 pm

    Oh, and speaking as a DC-area resident, the capital hasn’t “become a military encampment,” just the relatively small area around the convention center where Dana has to go to do his job. There weren’t even major traffic problems yesterday, and a lot of security is pretty reasonable for the largest gathering of diplomats in Washington since the founding of the UN. If he ever went outside of the confines of the Village to the actual city, that would be obvious.

    And to reinforce it by saying there were “enough Army vehicles to make it look like a May Day parade” when both Bushes actually had military equipment parading down Constitution Avenue after their wars without a peep from douchebags like Milbank…, well, I’m not often inclined toward profanity, but fuck him sideways.

  75. 75.

    Ruckus

    April 13, 2010 at 6:59 pm

    They are all paparazzi now, not worried about any actual facts or story, only about that one big exposure for themselves. It’s the same pyramid scheme as wall st, played out with words and pictures instead of money. Build on the BS with each new proclamation, thereby leveraging their importance. And just like wall st one plays with other peoples money position.

  76. 76.

    Cain

    April 13, 2010 at 6:59 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    And what is “the unthinkable”? Assassination? A sudden national emergency?

    Dijon mustard on his burger, no ketchup. Unthinkable, a french condiment!

    cain

  77. 77.

    Napoleon

    April 13, 2010 at 7:01 pm

    Over the weekend, Obama broke with years of protocol and slipped off to a soccer game without the “protective” pool that is always in the vicinity of the president in case the unthinkable occurs.

    Because Obama should cooperate with the presses’ desire to get photographs of Michele trying to hold Barak’s brains in his head (a la Jackie Kennedy) should some teabagger put a bullet in his head. Honest to God if I was the President and someone writes that column about me I make it my life’s work to screw with them every step of the way in their desire to get that picture.

  78. 78.

    lamh31

    April 13, 2010 at 7:03 pm

    @Rhoda:

    Gibbs who looks older than his 39 years…

    WTF. I would never have thought Gibbs was 39! In fact, he looks younger not older. Damn how much more “catty” can you get?

  79. 79.

    Cacti

    April 13, 2010 at 7:11 pm

    I’m sure parents across the land will be aghast that the President wants to protect his 11 and 8 year old daughters from being stalked by the DC press corps.

  80. 80.

    Comrade Dread

    April 13, 2010 at 7:13 pm

    @kay: Wasn’t slamming you.

    I’m just pissed at reporters in general. Specifically political reporters.

    I’m all for politicians being held accountable and government openness. But that’s rarely what we get from that crowd of jackasses.

  81. 81.

    kay

    April 13, 2010 at 7:15 pm

    @Cacti:

    I think the constant use of the identical phrase ” years of protocol” is a little weasel-wordish.
    They’re the press. Can they get a little more specific? How many “years”? Who set the “protocol”? Them?
    It makes it sound serious and grave, but is it?

  82. 82.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    April 13, 2010 at 7:18 pm

    Obama is just leading them on an occasional Snipe Hunt to let them know who’s boss and they are not his being at their beck and call. Setting boundaries, or something like that.

  83. 83.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    April 13, 2010 at 7:20 pm

    and they are not his being at their beck and call.

    Should be =he is not at their beck and call.

  84. 84.

    Linda Featheringill

    April 13, 2010 at 7:21 pm

    It seems that the meeting about nuclear material went well, in spite of the absence of the press. The British newspapers praise the host of the meeting [Obama] and express a little surprise at what was accomplished. WaPo and NYT talk about the agreements reached during the meeting.

    Apparently, the Nations of the World [NOW?] have agreed to be more careful with fissionable material sitting around in warehouses, etc. Good thing. Several have agreed to send their extra material to the US for safekeeping. I guess this is sort like playing the “banker” in a board game.

    As a point of comparison, what did Dana accomplish today?

  85. 85.

    rootless-e

    April 13, 2010 at 7:23 pm

    Another soon to be forgotten DKos diary

    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/4/13/856970/-Another-fake-Rahm-Emanuel-scandal-at-Huffpo

  86. 86.

    Cacti

    April 13, 2010 at 7:23 pm

    @kay: @kay:

    The whole story reads like the butt hurt of an elementary school cool-kids club over the new, cooler kid that doesn’t play by their rules.

    Cool Kids: B-b-but this is how we do it here!

    Cooler Kid: So?

    Cool Kids: *Speechless* mouths agape

  87. 87.

    PTirebiter

    April 13, 2010 at 7:45 pm

    @kay: He didn’t duck them, they just weren’t allowed on the floor once the work got started. I doubt that he was being petulant, it just wasn’t a photo op. A press presence would have no doubt inhibited some leaders from chatting candidly with others if they felt it might cost them politically back home. Think Chavez giving Obama a book.

  88. 88.

    kay

    April 13, 2010 at 7:51 pm

    @PTirebiter:

    Think Chavez giving Obama a book.

    I forgot about that. He’s tried this before! And it didn’t go well, did it? We didn’t get much substance when they were in the room.

    The China trip, too. I don’t remember what the huge Drudge-generated controversy was. Bowing? Was that the Bowing Incident? That’s how VITALLY IMPORTANT it was. I can’t remember who he bowed to.

    So. We got books and bowing, the last time out. We may not have missed anything this time around.

  89. 89.

    kay

    April 13, 2010 at 8:01 pm

    @Comrade Dread:

    I am, too. I love newspapers. I wish they weren’t dying. I think they’ll leave a big hole. That’s why I’m always so sad and distraught when they don’t live up to my lofty expectations.

    I wrote here, at the start of the health care debate, that the Washington Post was perfectly positioned to do a really stellar job on health care reform. They’re in DC, they know all the players, and they (presumably) understand legislation. They could be like the Detroit Free Press used to be on the auto industry. Specialists on the local “industry”, which is government. It should have been their Big Moment.
    How long had it been since there was a really big comprehensive piece of law to cover, for that paper? It coulda been GREAT. I was absolutely pulling for them. I had high hopes.
    With the exception of Ezra Klein, the coverage sucked. They blew it. They reprinted press releases and covered the horse race. So disappointing.

  90. 90.

    PTirebiter

    April 13, 2010 at 8:01 pm

    @kay: And it’s not just Obama. Say if the representative from Pakistan wanted do a little back channel diplomacy with the representative from India, they couldn’t risk a photo of them together showing up on Al Jazeera .

  91. 91.

    MinneapolisPipe

    April 13, 2010 at 8:01 pm

    Waaaaaaahhh!!

  92. 92.

    Socraticsilence

    April 13, 2010 at 8:10 pm

    Huh, this is funny- I mean what with usual presence of the press at treaty negotiations- I mean remember when the press was in the room at Camp David negotiations?

  93. 93.

    Maude

    April 13, 2010 at 8:15 pm

    Obama is not on American Idol. He’s doing his job. The press has plenty of opportunity to cover events and issues.
    The problem is that they don’t do that. They look for a negative and try to play gotcha with Obama.
    Why does Dana believe that the msm is entitiled to go along with Obama to private events?
    Gibbs has really zinged the WH press corpse. That’s why Dana put in that high school girlie comment about how old Gibbs looks.
    The msm got used to being lazy when Bush was around. Now, they have to work and it angers them.

  94. 94.

    Redshirt

    April 13, 2010 at 8:18 pm

    So, what happens when the press escalates by outright being rude, dismissive, and misleading to Obama and about the deeds of his Administration. What if they just drop all pretenses of objectivity and everyone turns Fox?

    I don’t know how you fight that, cuz guaranteed at least half the country would believe the media, and why wouldn’t they? How would they know otherwise?

    All Fox News, All the time, everywhere? Could our Democracy really withstand that? I’m not sure.

  95. 95.

    kay

    April 13, 2010 at 8:29 pm

    @Redshirt:

    I don’t know. It worries me a little. I was really bothered by how they rallied around the FOX reporters as individuals. As friends of theirs, or whatever.
    I think they’re supposed to be competitors, not a “team” or a club.
    Obama said to Jake Tapper once (jokingly, but with that edge) that Tapper was the “ombudsman” for the WH press corps and I really enjoyed that, it expresses my concern. It bugged the shit out of Tapper. Obama hit a nerve. It’s inappropriate when they’re using the forum to complain or lobby, as a group.

    “You think you’re going to- are you the ombudsman for the White House press corps? What’s your question- is that your question?”

  96. 96.

    Ash Can

    April 13, 2010 at 8:43 pm

    @kay: I remember that press conference. The press divas all brought their GWB games, and Obama kicked ass and took lots of names and no prisoners. At one point I walked into the front room and looked at the TV, and saw all the press guys laughing and Chip Reid looking like he was about to cry. Best. Presser. Evah.

  97. 97.

    kay

    April 13, 2010 at 8:51 pm

    @Ash Can:

    Obama was a law professor. That’s what the exchange brought to my mind. He enjoys the verbal match but it has to be a worthwhile exercise for both sides, or he’s not playing. I think Tapper is smart and principled. He can do better than that.

  98. 98.

    someguy

    April 13, 2010 at 9:43 pm

    There was an assload of foreign journalists wandering around downtown aimlessly sporting heavy loads of cameras, at least for non-Japanese cherry blossom tourists. And there was a big old bunch of foreign hired muscle looking goons walking around giving all us pissant locals the evil eye. Pretty impressive show of force by Serbia / Iran / Venezuala / Whoever.

    Shame about the cyclist. She probably shoulda stuck to the bike paths rather than ignoring the Nat Guard truck moving to block the roads so one or another foreign leader could get through the intersection without stopping. This here’s the Imperial Capital. Fuck with the bull, get the horns.

  99. 99.

    Nerem

    April 14, 2010 at 8:47 am

    “Over the weekend, Obama broke with years of protocol and slipped off to a soccer game without the “protective” pool that is always in the vicinity of the president in case the unthinkable occurs.”

    In other words, they want to be there when the president is murdered so they can all laugh and take pictures of it. How creepy.

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