People used to derive great enjoyment and motivation from Ari's rounds with the press core, espesially with Helen Thomas. The people that count that need encouragement, the activists that get the less active involved to win elections.
You ask what good a Press secretary can do. The difference between a good press secretary and a bad press secretary is that a good one puts the reporters on defense. The defensive tone carries into their reports and into their coverage.
The MSM on Defense rather than Offense is GOOD for the administration. It changes perception, it changes tone of who controls the debate.
That is what motivates activists? Sorry, but I've been very active in recent elections, and the daily antics of the Whitehouse press briefing had nothing to do with my motivation. Even when Ari was in.
"The difference between a good press secretary and a bad press secretary is that a good one puts the reporters on defense. The defensive tone carries into their reports and into their coverage."
I would like to see an example of that. Seriously. I want to see a Helen Thomas piece in which she was writing defensively because of Ari Fliescher's clever banter. I enjoy watching Rumsfeld's press briefings, but you will note that the press certainly hasn't become defensive about its reporting of the war. If anything, they've become progressively more biased. The Whitehouse press corps are a bunch of jackals. Since you obviously watch the press briefings you must be fully aware that what is said in the briefings and what makes it into their reports are two completely different things.