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Obama's Press List: Membership Shall Have Its Privileges.
Wall St. Journal ^ | February 11, 2009

Posted on 02/10/2009 8:29:51 PM PST by Steelfish

Obama's Press List Membership shall have its privileges.

About half-way through President Obama's press conference Monday night, he had an unscripted question of his own. "All, Chuck Todd," the President said, referring to NBC's White House correspondent. "Where's Chuck?" He had the same strange question about Fox News's Major Garrett: "Where's Major?"

The problem wasn't the lighting in the East Room. The President was running down a list of reporters preselected to ask questions. The White House had decided in advance who would be allowed to question the President and who was left out.

Presidents are free to conduct press conferences however they like, but the decision to preselect questioners is an odd one, especially for a White House famously pledged to openness.

We doubt that President Bush, who was notorious for being parsimonious with follow-ups, would have gotten away with prescreening his interlocutors. Mr. Obama can more than handle his own, so our guess is that this is an attempt to discipline reporters who aren't White House favorites.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: puppetmedia
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1 posted on 02/10/2009 8:29:51 PM PST by Steelfish
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To: Steelfish
He has “dissed” the entire country with this “stimulus” package that Nancy and Harry put together. Why shouldn't he “diss” some reporters.
He has no respect for anyone other than himself. Why do the reporters still think he is such a great person? He lied multiple times during the press conference. Out and out lies and he micromanages the press conference and they still think that he is the best thing since mother's milk. What is wrong with them? Don't they know that he is completely disrespecting them? Where is their cynicism? Obama has cynicism in spades. I don't want reporters without cynicism. Where is a Mencken among these White House reporters? They are more like Pollyanas than newsmen.
2 posted on 02/10/2009 8:49:37 PM PST by madinmadtown (BO stinks..)
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To: Steelfish

If Bush had done this the press would be BLEEDING OUT EVERY CAVITY....


3 posted on 02/10/2009 8:53:20 PM PST by Tzimisce (http://groups.myspace.com/nailthemessiah)
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To: Steelfish

Effing coward.
The image is all that matters. His fragile, small, crafted illusion of self he must maintain.


4 posted on 02/10/2009 8:58:20 PM PST by Names Ash Housewares (Refusing to kneel before the socialist messiah. 1-20-13 Freedom Day.)
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To: Steelfish

The reporters should all pull a no-show.

If all of them cannot be in the room and possibly ask questions, then no one should show up at all.

I know, I know, the Bama lovers would still show up.


5 posted on 02/10/2009 9:07:33 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation

It has only been 19 days

Do you really think the establishment media prima donnas are going to tolerate this for 4 years?


6 posted on 02/10/2009 9:16:06 PM PST by silverleaf ("Men are not angered by mere misfortune but by misfortune conceived as injury" - Screwtape)
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To: Steelfish
Reporters are held in such high esteem. I ask why. What are the qualifications to become a reporter? NOTHING. ZIP. NADDA.

I hold crack wh_res in higher respect than I do members of the news media.

7 posted on 02/10/2009 9:16:50 PM PST by Lawgvr1955 (You can never have too much cowbell !!)
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To: silverleaf

**Do you really think the establishment media prima donnas are going to tolerate this for 4 years?**

Of course they won’t, unless they’ve been hoodwinked or paid off by Obama et al.


8 posted on 02/10/2009 9:19:06 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Steelfish

Remember the FL TV reporter who asked a question during the campaign they didn’t like and they openly told her they would be doing no more intervirews with her or her station. I think she got Biden but I don’t remember the question.


9 posted on 02/10/2009 9:20:24 PM PST by lonestar
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To: Salvation
I watched Nightline tonight because I'm masochistic. I have never seen anything more disgusting. The reporter whose name I don't know had a tingle up his leg I could tell. He was absolutely falling all over himself.

Truth be known, Obama might find them disgusting but will use them to the limit.

10 posted on 02/10/2009 9:23:36 PM PST by lonestar
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To: Tzimisce

There’s a mental picture for you. And I believe every word of it!


11 posted on 02/10/2009 9:43:39 PM PST by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
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To: Steelfish

The President was running down a list of reporters preselected to ask questions.

Should say. Reporters preselected to ask preselected questions.

Tonight’s questions were obviously distributed to the media by Barack’s handlers. Every time he picked a reporter to ask a question he looked at his notes. Perfect example when he called for the third question he said Chip Reid then pointed out to his right. Chip Reid was sitting directly in front of Obama. Here’s what he said calling for Chuck Todd.
“All right. Chuck Todd. Where’s Chuck?” At least he didn’t say Stand up Chuck.


12 posted on 02/10/2009 10:18:43 PM PST by cquiggy
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To: Steelfish

The more he smacks them around the more they love him. Bush showed them respect and fairness and they despised him. What does that say about the media? They are like women who love bad boys — no self respect, just abject whoreship and worship. Media reporters are sluts and Obama is their pimp. He should wear a big 70s hat with a feather and drive a pink pimp-mobile. At least that shows what the relationship is up front.


13 posted on 02/10/2009 11:20:15 PM PST by Blind Eye Jones
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To: Steelfish
"Mr. Obama can more than handle his own..."

???

14 posted on 02/10/2009 11:26:12 PM PST by phrogphlyer (Sarah 2012)
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To: Steelfish

It was obvious that the reporters had been informed in advance, that the President would call from a list. Nobody was raising their hands. I’ve never seen this before.

The question is, were those called upon talked to prior to the press conference. Did they give their questions in advance so Obama could brush up?

Did Obama dictate the questions to be asked?

I’m surprised nobody thinks of the implications here, and even papers like the WSJ don’t even broach the subject.

Good grief, is there no one that has a curios mind in our nation’s media any longer?


15 posted on 02/10/2009 11:47:20 PM PST by DoughtyOne (Bipartisainship is now about a 3 to 532 vote on Capital Hill.)
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To: DoughtyOne
The question is, were those called upon talked to prior to the press conference. Did they give their questions in advance so Obama could brush up?

I would imagine that (at a minimum) the Huffington Post "reporter" was screened lest he ask something genuinely embarrassing (not to say that "when are you going to try Bush for war crimes" wasn't embarrassing, but it had already been asked by a more "reputable" MSM reporter).

16 posted on 02/11/2009 12:50:13 AM PST by pawdoggie
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To: pawdoggie

I would agree with that.


17 posted on 02/11/2009 12:54:04 AM PST by DoughtyOne (Bipartisainship is now about a 3 to 532 vote on Capital Hill.)
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To: Tzimisce

Amen! They would be whooping and throwing feces!


18 posted on 02/11/2009 1:15:22 AM PST by Anti-Bubba182
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To: Steelfish

Ha. The media are obedient hounds for Hussein. They’re his pets, and while they might growl once in a while at Hussein’s spokespeople, they’ll by and large sit on his lap and do his bidding.

Nearly every single one of them reveled in his false glow, never asking a tough question, never looking at the details or lack thereof of his “plans” or rhetoric, never challenging his assumptions, never reviewing or investigating his past.

The cult is being increased partially because those who fancy themselves watchdogs have become lapdogs.


19 posted on 02/11/2009 2:06:27 AM PST by Recovering_Democrat
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To: Tzimisce; Anti-Bubba182
If Bush had done this the press would be BLEEDING OUT EVERY CAVITY....
Someone help me . . . there was an internet reporter whom the Bush press secretary was accused of calling on whenever he needed a break from the attacks of the "objective" members of the Associated Press monopoly.

Seems to me the guy was accused of being gay (NTTIAWWT . . .)


20 posted on 02/11/2009 9:21:07 AM PST by conservatism_IS_compassion (Change is what journalism is all about. NATURALLY journalists favor "change.")
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