Another “good for Obama but bad if Bush did it” kind of moment here with the White House press secretary Andy Gibbs declaring that he and Obama want to stop the MSM habit of using anonymous sourcing:
During that meeting with the press corps, Gibbs offered correspondents a no-background policy, in which the White House would only give on-the-record interviews if reporters promised not to cite unnamed sources, he explained to host Howard Kurtz in an interview on “Reliable Sources.”
“I think we could all put what we want to say to the American people and to the news media all on the record,” he said. “I’ve offered to end it. But it’s got to be a two-way street.”
The news arrives as tensions between the White House and its devoted correspondents are growing, in part because of the minimal access they had to last week’s Nuclear Security Summit.
What a spineless weak little weaselly Administraton we got here. The press drools over Obama, not good enough. The press diefy Obama, not good enough. The press dare to ask a few tough questions….not good enough and now cut off access.
Just imagine what this Administration would of behaved like if they had been treated as Bush was.
Of course no interview with Gibbs could be complete without a dig at Fox:
Responding to repeated questions from host Howard Kurtz about why Obama has held no press conferences since July 2009, Gibbs seemed to dismiss their relevance, calling it “an arbitrary Washington measure” of the president’s accessibility. “This president has taken questions through countless interviews through – answering questions directly from the media,” Gibbs said.
While more broadly expressing frustration with press coverage, Gibbs singled out Fox, saying that while the administration understands the need to “play the game” by giving the network access, it has a definitive “slant” in its coverage, including its news programs, and that it caters to a viewership that’s already made up its mind.
“I don’t think many people have to watch Fox to understand the—the political slant that they have,” Gibbs said. “They’re feeding an audience that they know want to see and hear a certain side of that argument.”
He cited the president’s sit-down with Fox News’s Bret Baier just before the health care vote as an example of the conservative-leaning outlet attempting to push an agenda.
Please. That was a reporter, a good one at that, who understood within 3 minutes that it was Obama pushing an agenda and if he was going to get any real answers to questions he would need to push the issue…which he did.
This is the job of a reporter. To get answers, to question authority. Not to bow and lick the heels of our leaders.
I can’t remember ever having a bigger bunch of bitchers and moaners in Washington then we have now. You dare ask a tough question, fine…no more interviews and no more access. You dare to oppose Obama’s agenda, fine…your all racists and want the kids to die.
Sad to say but one of the most spineless administration now sits in power folks.
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Well, as usual, the media barely reports on anything that would go against their savior.
If this were Bush, there’d be protests and proclamations of intimidation.
Obama: Crickets.
The MSM is only doing itself more harm as it goes along. Someday they will wake up and realize that El Presidente has them in his cross hairs, a la Chavez…but by then it could very well be too late.
Nah, he will have them all eating outta his hand in no time. Ppl seem to wanna be shepherded by this dude. Every unconstitutional act, threat and bribe, hell prolly even a fixed election (if there were to be one) before the next election. Mans using a Jedi mind-trick on weak minded America through the media.
In my world, They get real questions from the media and start to cry,,,,,because this bunch is thin skinned They could not handle one day of what they have put us through! Look how upset he was about Palins nuke statement.