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Tuesday, October 14, 2003

President Bush has decided to go chat directly with local affiliate stations, rather than let the Washington Press Corps do its normal hack-then-broadcast work.

And boy, is the Washington Press Corps ever angry!

Get a load of this, especially this from Mark Halperin:

  "It's much more often the case in doing local or regional interviews that reporters come
  to the interview at least a bit star-struck, at least a bit less prepared for how to focus
  the interview on questions and answers in the public interest and a bit more willing to
  accept what the White House position is on matters of controversy," said Mark Halperin,
  reporters ABC News political director. Halperin said he intends no slight to regional but
  that Bush is "more sophisticated" about avoiding the national media "than anybody who
  has ever held the job."

Let me see. Where to start on this. Well, it does occur to me that the last occupant of the White House left us the adjective "Clintonesque." To date the Washington Press Corps portrayal of this President has been that he's stupid and tongue-tied. What is it guys? Is he stupid and tongue-tied, or is he better at avoiding the national media than anybody who has ever held the job? Or could it possibly, just possibly, be that your descriptions of him are self-serving?

Then there's the world-class condescension: "sorry, but you rubes out there in the sticks are going to be overawed by the star power of this man and, let's face it, you're just not smart enough to catch on to his tricks."

Christ! They pile it up so high and so fast, you'd need wings to keep from drowning in it.

Personally, I think Bush made a smart move. The Washington Press Corps votes overwhelmingly Democrat and will do what it can to bring him down. As an example, the situation in Iraq is improving, but we hear about little but American troop deaths. The DJIA hit a recent low in Q1 of this year (you know, the whole Iraq invasion thing), but has been rising steadily since. The President is doing everything right militarily and economically, and the fruits will be there just around election time. But you'll never hear that from the Washington Press Corps. No, it's all dead Americans and jobless claims.

Burns had it just right:

     Ah wad Pow’r, the giftie gie us
     To see ourselves as ithers see us

That's what ratings are for, I guess.

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