Posted on 08/12/2006 10:59:32 AM PDT by Mo1
GREEN BAY, Wis. - On one of the scariest days yet in the five-year battle with terrorists, President Bush prepared to make a speech to reassure the American people. But the White House press corps was 1,000 miles away in Texas.
Bush had left his ranch vacation and jetted north for a scheduled closed-door fundraiser. No press plane accompanied him. And so when news broke that Britain had broken up a major terrorist plot, the only ones there to convey the president's reaction were a handful of local reporters and a few pool journalists who ride in the back of Air Force One.
The idea that Bush could travel across the country without a full contingent of reporters, especially in the middle of a war, highlights a major cultural shift in the presidency and the news media. In the four decades since the assassination of John F. Kennedy, presidents traditionally have taken journalists with them wherever they traveled on the theory that when it comes to the most powerful leader on the planet, anything can happen at any time.
Striking out alone
But increasingly in recent months, Bush has left town without a chartered press plane, often to receptions where he talks to donors chipping in hundreds of thousands of dollars with no cameras or tapes to record his words for the public. Barred from such events, most news organizations will not pay to travel with him. And so a White House policy inclined to secrecy has combined with escalating costs for the strapped news media to let Bush fly under the radar in a way his predecessors could not.
"A lot of it is a reflection of the times," said C-SPAN's Steve Scully, president of the White House Correspondents' Association. "The whole thing is changing."
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
I've noticed that too.
Snow should have gotten the job when Fleischer stepped down.
How big do you want it?
Fundraisers, peace talks, coordinating with Blair about terrorism, holding meetings with Condi, teleconferences...
Some vacation!!
Uuuuuhh please . . what a bunch of BS.
Uuuuuhh please . . what a bunch of BS.
Yeah, unlike B.J. Clinton who basked in all the press' adoration and wouldn't separate himself from cameras - just like a rock star.
Let's see. CBS just got Katie Couric for $15 million a year. If she does 200 broadcasts, that means she's getting $75,000 per half hour CBS newscast. Finding the salaries of other top anchors is difficult, but the "star" system might be a reason the news media is strapped for cash.
Tom Brady makes $15 million, but he HAS won three Super Bowls. BTW, talk about a bargain, Brady made $315,000 the year he took the Patriots to their first winning Super Bowl.
The President is required by law to address the representatives of the people in the person of the House and the Senate from time to time on the State of the Union.
Strangely enough the media was not included in Article two section three.
Other then this he is not required Constitutionally to say a word to anyone.
Remember: It isn't real news if it doesn't come from the MSM.
The DC press pool can go shove it.
The terrorists and their media supporters should coordinate their activities better, then things like this wouldn't happen.
He really is excellent in shutting up these windbags
well ask the terrorist that after a ny slimes headline
Reflection of the times, indeed...
The MSM are irrelevant...
Agreed! Those so-called journalists are just whining lefty crybabies. But let's just add this to the Left's list of imaginary Constitutional "rights";)
Hey, I played golf today not far from NASA (Clear Lake/ Laporte, TX)... very hot and steamy... even with the 7:40 am tee time.
What did I shoot you ask? The low 120s... golf's not my game as you can tell... but I had fun. ;-)
Somebody call the waaaammmmbulance! It does seem that, with journalists, it's all about THEM sometimes.
It doesn't matter WHO is with the President, or where he is. If he can get face time on the TV to give the American people some info on the situation, that's fine with me. I don't watch daytime TV, or even have it on most days, so I wouldn't have noticed anyway.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.