[...]
The Bush
press conference to me was like a mini-Alamo for American journalism, a final
announcement that the press no longer performs anything akin to a real function.
Particularly revolting was the spectacle of the cream of the national press
corps submitting politely to the indignity of obviously pre-approved questions,
with Bush not even bothering to conceal that the affair was scripted.
Abandoning
the time-honored pretense of spontaneity, Bush chose the order of questioners
not by scanning the room and picking out raised hands, but by looking down and
reading from a predetermined list. Reporters, nonetheless, raised their hands
in between questions–as though hoping to suddenly catch the president’s
attention.
In other
words, not only were reporters going out of their way to make sure their softballs
were pre-approved, but they even went so far as to act on Bush’s
behalf, raising their hands and jockeying in their seats in order to better
give the appearance of a spontaneous news conference.
Even Bush
couldn’t ignore the absurdity of it all. In a remarkable exchange that
somehow managed to avoid being commented upon in news accounts the next day,
Bush chided CNN political correspondent John King when the latter overacted
his part, too enthusiastically waving his hand when it apparently was, according
to the script, his turn anyway.
KING: "Mr.
President."
BUSH: "We’ll
be there in a minute. King, John King. This is a scripted..."
[...]
This was just Bush[base ']s eighth press conference since taking office, and each one of them has been a travesty. In his first presser, on Feb. 22, 2001, a month after his controversial inauguration, he was not asked a single question about the election, Al Gore or the Supreme Court. On the other hand, he was asked five questions about Bill Clinton[base ']s pardons.
Reporters argue that they have no choice. They[base ']ll say they can[base ']t protest or boycott the staged format, because they risk being stripped of their seat in the press pool. For the same reason, they say they can[base ']t write anything too negative. They can[base ']t write, for instance, "President Bush, looking like a demented retard on the eve of war[sigma]" That leaves them with the sole option of "working within the system" and, as they like to say, "trying to take our shots when we can."
But the White House press corps[base '] idea of "taking a shot" is David Sanger asking Bush what he thinks of British foreign minister Jack Straw saying that regime change was not necessarily a war goal. And then meekly sitting his ass back down when Bush ignores the question.
They can[base ']t write what they think, and can[base ']t ask real questions. What the hell are they doing there? If the answer is "their jobs," it[base ']s about time we started wondering what that means.
Volume 16, Issue 11 - 3/12/2003
