Posted on 07/01/2002 10:52:33 AM PDT by Lance Romance
British Prime Minister Tony Blair gave one a try last week and seemed to like it. So did Russian President Vladimir Putin during a two-hour marathon with 700 journalists this week. Even Emperor Akihito of Japan has held some.
But President George W. Bush has shied away from the formal Q-and-A sessions. He and his staff obviously do not feel they have to respond to sustained press questioning on U.S. policies in this unsettled world.
That record is not nearly sufficient for the public, through the press, to get timely answers from the chief executive on issues that only he can address with authority.
Franklin D. Roosevelt held two news conferences a week in the Oval Office during World War II. There was no television then, and FDR could not be quoted directly.
But the reporters conveyed his message clearly, and no one doubted that he was absolutely in command and totally in touch with current events.
Bush, by not deigning to take a full range of press questions frequently, risks leaving the impression that the administration is at times adrift with no one at the helm.
A president refusing to face frequent quizzes from the media weakens the tradition of accountability by America's leadership, which is a necessary attribute of its democracy.
Furthermore, his refusal undermines his supporters' view that the popular president can only enhance his image as a man in command when he stands at a podium and fields questions on urgent domestic and international concerns.
Last week Blair, seeking to repair his fractured relations with the British press, held a televised news conference at No. 10 Downing Street and fielded 36 questions in 80 minutes. About 80 reporters showed up.
The open session was a switch for Blair, who, like his predecessors, previously held closed-door briefings for a select group of reporters known as "the lobby."
He seemed to have fun in the freewheeling give-and-take with reporters. When the news conference ended, he said he would hold similar sessions, perhaps monthly, in the future.
That same day in Tokyo Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko held an extraordinary 70-minute session with three rows of black-suited reporters who had submitted their soft-ball questions in advance and bowed deeply to the monarchs as they finished the well-scripted encounter in the Imperial Palace.
The questions had been vetted by the palace guard, and prepared answers had been put on a table in front of the emperor and empress before they entered the reception hall where the Q-and-A took place.
Putin's performance at a news conference Monday, only the second in his two-year-old administration, showed him as a master of detail concerned about the everyday lives of his people.
Bush often uses joint news conferences with foreign leaders at home or abroad to answer reporters' questions. But his performances have certain imperial qualities. These events are held on his terms.
He will often say in advance: "I'll take two questions." Then he will designate the reporters permitted to ask those questions. The foreign potentates are also limited to answering two questioners, which leaves a roomful of other reporters frustrated.
Bush simply ignores follow-up questions, and reporters are quickly shooed out of the room. Just so there are no hard feelings, Bush shows his down-home friendly side by calling out his pet nicknames for the regular correspondents on the White House beat.
Usually, presidents don't mind holding news conferences when things are going well. But they duck the press when they're in trouble.
Although most presidential candidates promise on the campaign trail to hold regular news conferences, those who make it to the White House somehow forget their promise. And no press secretaries or other aides -- try as they might -- can replace the president himself.
Pinning down this chief executive on difficult issues is becoming a lost cause in the security-driven White House, where officials focus on diminishing, not facilitating, access to him.
Bush, obsessing over news leaks and keeping his aides mum, offers little explanation of his vision for the nation and the world. Undoubtedly, he has created the most secretive administration in modern times.
But he should realize that the full-fledged news conference is a two-way street. Not only can reporters learn what he thinks about big-picture issues, but he can often learn from their questions what people in various parts of the nation are worried about -- what issues they care most about.
The American people have the right to know where the president is taking the country. Bush can make all the speeches in the world, but his policies have to be probed, and only the press is positioned to do that.
Just because they won't respond to your senilic, incessant accusation/questions doesn't mean they are hiding anything. I certainly don't remember Helen being this tenacious when Bill was on Pennsylvania Ave.
May be just a case of want-to, Paul. I can't imagine even Sick Willie being that hard-up.
But there is no doubt that she longs for the day.....with all her dried up and hideous old being.
Dear Helen, you typify those in your profession who are left wing extreme activist posing as journalist. Every time I witness your questions at the White House press room, I am reminded of the destructive nature of the left in America.
Please do America and the World a favor, and retire. Perhaps some of the world's tyrants and terrorist who you so admire will accept you into their fold.
Ari Fleisher is a much nicer person than I am. I would have kicked you out of the WH press briefings on Jan, 21st 2001.
Sincerely,
Randy Lormand
randy@lormand.com
In case you have forgotten, you would not have the right to kick anyone out of anyplace because you disagree; read the constitution and start being a good american if that is possible-helen thomas
It's not so much that Bush is mum on current events.
It's much more that your hearing aid battery needs replaced.
Love,
Laz
Please. Ari Fleischer gives DAILY press briefings, and he has the authority of the President. Kiss my grits, Helen!
Hmmm...I don't recall the Penguin griping about how President Klinton had zero press conferences in 98' when he was impeached?
I was thinking exactly that. Another stinking hypocrite.
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