White House Press Corps to Obama: We Will Not Be Ignored
Remember when Barack Obama caved in to the demands of the White House press corps and held a press conference earlier this month? That was just part of his pernicious plan to hide from the public. Don't trust him!
White House Press Personality Disorder—the acute confused neediness and irrational entitlement that seizes people once they join the White House press corps—has raised its ugly head again. CBS News' Mark Knoller has determined that the week of February 8, 2010—the week that Barack Obama held a White House press conference after repeated demands from reporters that he do so—"was the most off-the-radar week of his presidency." Knoller came to that conclusion because on the other four days, the days on which Obama wasn't holding press conferences, he made no public appearances.
Time's Michael Scherer picked up on that little Alice-in-Wonderland statistical maneuver in order to spin a tale about "the vanishing Barack Obama," for whom "less is suddenly more" when it comes to interacting with the media. We can't believe White House press secretary Robert Gibbs hasn't gouged his own eyes out with his thumbs after having to deal with these people every day. Let's review:
First, Obama was overexposed:
Then the press decided they wanted a press conference, so they started complaining to Gibbs and denying that they'd ever said he was overexposed.
But he didn't immediately hold a press conference. Which means he was arrogantly refusing to answer questions from the press, a refusal that NBC Newsman Chuck Todd described as a "shame" to the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz.
Then he gave a press conference.
Then Todd complained that he didn't have any news to announce at that press conference, so what was the point anyway?
Then Knoller ran the numbers and discovered that, even though Obama gave a press conference, there were hours in the day that he did not spend taking questions from reporters.
Then Scherer called Obama out on his reclusiveness.
Imagine what it must be like to be married to these people.