White House Bans Reporters from Shouting Questions to President Obama
Despite the fact that the White House press corps is comprised mostly of members who are ardent liberal Democrats who want to see President Obama triumph over Republicans, it has grown increasingly clear that the feeling of respect is not mutual.
The White House made that apparent today by laying down a new rule for reporters covering Obama's news conferences there: No more shouting questions at the president.
While the shouting practice has long been a tradition of presidential press conferences, Obama's staff, as Politico reports, has often used "still sprays" to exclude print and TV journalists who might capture Obama snubbing an unexpected query or being forced to answer an unscripted question.
When Carney was asked why these reporters were barred from the group covering the deficit meeting between the White House and congressional leaders, he responded that there had already been two press conferences in the past two weeks that allowed TV cameras, during which time, "People shouted questions at [Obama]."
The strict policy has riled up many reporters. As Politico explains,
The White House Correspondents’ Association has protested exclusion of print and TV from pools — and several reporters in the briefing room took Carney’s comment as an annoyed expression of presidential displeasure with shouted questions.
“It's an absurd reason to say that because we asked questions you're not going to allow cameras in there. He's capable of ignoring our questions. He does it all the time,” said Chip Reid of CBS.
[...]
It didn’t end there. “Can I ask you to clarify — there's no reporters allowed in today's meeting because reporters misbehaved?” asked another scribe. “Earlier it sounded like you were punishing us.”
Carney, who used to sit in the same seats as these journalists as a White House reporter for Time magazine, dismissed the reporters by saying "the president has taken questions quite a lot lately, as you know, and so he's not taking questions today. He may tomorrow. Or he may later, you know, but today, we're just doing a still spread, which is not unprecedented."
For an administration that promised to be the most transparent in history, blocking reporters from press events does not bode well in its favor.
- Aubrey Vaughan's blog
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Comments
Eat your peas, jerk the band-aid,gag the press.
Submitted by upcountrywater on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 4:44pm.
Photos no audio...
natch! As high tech as Lincoln's day.
You Didn't Build That.
We have the Tea Party....
Submitted by Prester John on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 4:53pm.
....the Left should form a Pea Party.
Heh.
Use straws for Pea Shooters
Submitted by Red Jeep on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 5:44pm.
!
Pea Party or...
Submitted by Chris Norman on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 12:29am.
Pee-Pee Party, since they all act and think like toddlers.
Good answer
Submitted by Albaby on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 4:45pm.
Love your comment.
Pea Party
Submitted by Albaby on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 4:43pm.
You mean pee party, don't you? The left is always P&M ing about something.
Ouch baby, very ouch
Submitted by Prester John on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 4:46pm.
Check out the comments in the Politico story.
http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0711/shout_of_bounds_729191ad-69...
"Stupid people are ruining America".
Herman Cain 2012
I wonder how long it will be before Politico stops allowing...
Submitted by Dave. on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 5:25pm.
...comments?
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
the "Won"
Submitted by ohio granny on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 4:53pm.
what is wrong with these reporters? don't they know the "messiah" doesn't have to answer to his subjects. he is our superior and we are the peons.
democrats = liars, cheats, crooks, and hypocrites. bullies and thugs too.
→ Let's be reasonable!
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 4:56pm.
With ears that big, imagine how unbearably loud the slightest whisper must be to the Soetoro.
Then maybe Obama should get a louder teleprompter
Submitted by Dave. on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 5:03pm.
And these idiot reporters better just be glad the Comrade Chairman is only merely banning the reporters he doesn't like.
For now.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Press "Corps"
Submitted by iveseenitall on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 5:36pm.
Don't forget,that's press "corpse" (as in dead people). Pronounce it correctly now.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal" (progressive)
isia, GOOD ONE!
Submitted by Chris Norman on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 12:31am.
"Press Corpse" is VERY appropriate, since after a long decline, journalism finally died in 2008.
The Carney dude looks like a
Submitted by celator on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 5:10pm.
The Carney dude looks like a reject from the "Happy Days" cast.
"Be at peas!"
Submitted by jon_torlin on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 5:14pm.
Peas and tranquility be upon you, the dear leader need not answer any questions on this day!
Tough cookies, ya git.
-Jon
"Ja wohl, mein Führer, they will not annoy you anymore."
Submitted by SickofLibs on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 5:27pm.
.
Long standing disrespect
Submitted by apodoca on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 5:33pm.
Aubrey, this is a jest: "it has grown increasingly clear that the feeling of respect is not mutual."
Obama's disrespect for the media was abundantly clear in 2007-2008. They made him. In return, he spit in their faces, seldom did interviews. Count the number of interviews Obama granted once he became the nominee. Go ahead. Count them on one hand.
Obama's whole attitude was: "Go on, now go! Walk out the door. You're not welcome any more. I've done changed that stupid lock, and I've changed that stupid key. I don't need you now you've put me where I wanna be!"
The justifiably named lapdog media, dazzled by Obama's café au lait, refused to (and continue to do so, too) see that Obama used them like toilet paper and tossed them away. They keep kissing his butt, and he keeps flushing them.
So, this commandment from the Teh Tinpot Won is nothing new. Don't shout questions at the little groundgod. He doesn't know enough to answer one question without a teleprompter, much less two. Shouted questions confuse the guy feeding answers into the teleprompter; he needs to read from the sheet of questions that Obama gives the media and doesn't want to be confused with off-script questions.
Maybe Boy Barry has some kind
Submitted by killa37 on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 5:33pm.
Maybe Boy Barry has some kind of earpiece so that he gets the answers to the questions, and the shouting makes it hard for him to receive these answers??? And this little sophomore that is the press secretary???? This guy seems to inspire a helluva lotta strength and resolve and power, doesn't he???? Why are so many of Boy Barry's staff such dweebie-queebie types???? Oh,I guess that is a rhetorical question.....................
White House
Submitted by jessieH on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 5:37pm.
What's he going to do, smite us? Now odumbass is turning on his own media. That's what happens when you sleep with rattlesnakes.
Or run out of victims
Submitted by jon_torlin on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 6:56pm.
Or run out of victims thrown to the alligators (or crocs) before you get eaten yourselves.
-Jon
Politically Correct Censorship
Submitted by countmein5050 on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 5:43pm.
Like frogs sitting in the water until it's too hot to escape alive....journalists are being silenced. I wonder how long before his media lap dogs turn on him.
HEY! HEY!
Submitted by GG_NB on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 6:29pm.
WHY THE SPECIAL TREATMENT?
ISN'T THE PRESS ALLOWED TO YELL OUT THEIR QUESTIONS (AS IT'S ALWAYS DONE) IN A FREE- FLOWING MANNER? DOESN'T THAT BRING ABOUT A MORE AUTHENTIC, ROBUST FEEL THAT ENDS UP LESS CONTRIVED?
WHY THE PRESSING BACK OF THE PRESS?
"If not us, who? If not now, when?"
~Ronald Reagan
Press once again changes Obama's filthy diapers
Submitted by Slyrr on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 6:31pm.
Remember Obama was yukking it up with the dictator of China earlier this year. He said to him, in essence, 'I wish I was president of China because you can kill the media if they annoy you!'
Cast out this odious man in 2012 - or impeach him once we gather enough proof that he engineered the 'guns to mexican crooks' scheme.
Obama will forever be remembered as a dark smear on American history. Can you imagine one of Bush's press secretaries coming out and commanding reporters, 'Now don't you be MEAN today!'
They'd have spent the next few weeks mocking him as a crybaby and a wimp. If only the liberal press had the same gonads to attack their pampered darling....
Obama walks on talks
Submitted by bkeyser on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 9:21pm.
I'm guessing Carney will be banning republicans tomorrow. Bad night for Barry.
If Obama bans Republicans
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 9:27pm.
from press conferences, only one reporter will be missing. The one from Fox.
True Rad
Submitted by bkeyser on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 9:34pm.
but I was thinking more along the lines of the White House; I think Jay will ban Republicans from the White House.
Did you see the story on Barry walking out of the talks tonight? "This might bring my presidency down..."
bk
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 9:45pm.
Very interesting article. Isn't it a new thing that he's objecting to a short term solution since that's we've had no budget for quite awhile now?
To me those statements seem very rehearsed. Somewhat teleprompter-ish, or is it just me?
Yeah Rad
Submitted by bkeyser on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 9:48pm.
Those statements I referenced to Dan below, I assume? If so, then definitely. Tapper has quotes around them and yet attributed them to no one. My guess is this was the prepared memo by a White House Staffer. No way the flubmaster said that stuff on the fly -and pissed off. The best he could do would be a bunch of "uhs".
Duh One must wished he had
Submitted by Dan Diego on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 9:33pm.
Duh One must wish he had C-Span in for his sissy fit ...
Funny that Politico quotes Cantor but has "officials" stating how cool and in charge Duh One was.
“Obama lit him up. Cantor sat in stunned silence,” said an official in the meeting. “It was incredible. If the public saw Obama he would win in a landslide.”
Dan
Submitted by bkeyser on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 9:36pm.
In the Tapper piece I just linked above, he's got three paragraphs of quotes, and yet he wasn't in the room. Reporters weren't in the room. And Tapper (and Anne Compton) doesn't attribute the quotes to anyone.
Must be one of those "Some
Submitted by Dan Diego on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 9:55pm.
Must be one of those "Some people say..." type things.
BTW: Keep up the good fight with your art, though that last Chrissy pic I saw was disturbing.
Unfortunately Dan
Submitted by bkeyser on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 9:59pm.
disturbing is much to mild for the one I just linked. I gotta find something else to do some nights...
Well I can't say you didn't
Submitted by Dan Diego on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 10:28pm.
Well I can't say you didn't warn me...
'Obama lit him up'??? Sounds
Submitted by killa37 on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 10:44pm.
'Obama lit him up'??? Sounds to me like the petulant prick wasn't getting his way,and threw one of his twerpy tantrums......he probably flipped the bird to Cantor while 'scratching' his face too.................I've got a 5 year old grandson who can conduct himself with more maturity than Boy Blunder!!!
And he's going to 'take it to the American people'??? What he really means is that he's going to tell the MSM how to write the story line, so that it makes Barahma look good, and the evil Republicans look bad................
'If the public saw this, he would win in a landslide'??? I think the public has increasingly seen how this spoiled little brat can act when he doesn't get his way, and are noticing more and more his arrogant and sanctimonions tendancies......
Could be he had a more
Submitted by Dan Diego on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 11:23pm.
Could be he had a more pressing engagement, like a Tee Time.
Yeah, Dan, I was actually
Submitted by killa37 on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 11:30pm.
Yeah, Dan, I was actually thinking about what 'don't call my bluff' REALLY means!!! It's basically an admission of bluffing in the 'game'........and I think the idea is to NOT have someone 'call your bluff'..............you actually want them to 'buy your bluff' and fold, or some such result. I'm not a card player, but isn't that what it means???
What it might mean
Submitted by jon_torlin on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 7:41am.
He probably thinks he's got the public so snookered by his BS that he can get away with saying something like that.
-Jon
I'm waiting
Submitted by BMorgan53 on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 9:29am.
For the WH to add, "Nor will shoes be thrown to obtain the President's attention.
How about...
Submitted by GG_NB on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 10:01am.
"Out of Business" signs? Can those be held up?
"If not us, who? If not now, when?"
~Ronald Reagan
Solidarity
Submitted by Utherpend on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 11:39am.
How clueless are these news agencies. How about they all agree to not show up for the next press conference and leave the Pretender in Chief there by himself trying to get his message out to no one. I bet that would show who has the real power. But none of them have the balls to actually stand up to them.
Thin skinned king
Submitted by Abu_Nudnik on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 12:02pm.
George III or Charles I?