The kind of reporting that we have come to expect, and will continue to expect, from The Politico as a furious Barack Obama goes medieval on some reporters ass:
President Obama made a surprise visit to the White House press corps Thursday night, but got agitated when he was faced with a substantive question.
Asked how he could reconcile a strict ban on lobbyists in his administration with a Deputy Defense Secretary nominee who lobbied for Raytheon, Obama interrupted with a knowing smile on his face.
"Ahh, see," he said, "I came down here to visit. See this is what happens. I can’t end up visiting with you guys and shaking hands if I’m going to get grilled every time I come down here."
Pressed further by the Politico reporter about his Pentagon nominee, William J. Lynn III, Obama turned more serious, putting his hand on the reporter’s shoulder and staring him in the eye.
"Alright, come on" he said, with obvious irritation in his voice. "We will be having a press conference at which time you can feel free to [ask] questions. Right now, I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself to you guys – that’s all I was trying to do."
The president was quickly saved by a cameraman in the room who called out: “I’d like to say it one more time: ‘Mr. President.’ ”
Obama spent about 10 minutes total, winding his way through a crush of reporters and photographers between the upper and lower floors of the journalists’ workspace and asking questions about who worked where and how the booths and desks were assigned.
Video below the fold:
That Barack Obama, he’s a bad motherfu – (shut you mouth) But I’m talking about Barack. (We can dig it)




19 Comments
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You’re damn right.
HA! The “reporter” in question is none other than Cub Reporter Johnny “Petunias” Martin. He was the one that Meghan McInsane gushed about in her infamous video from the McInsane Press BBQ at the “ranch,” and how Petunias brought beautiful flowers for Sindy. Meghan thought Petunias was so nice and thoughtful.
But with the uppity darkie? Not so much. I mean who does Obama think he is anyway?!?! Go git ‘em, Petunias! GGRRRRRRRR!
Oh, and here’s the Tough Guy apparently “working” a source:
http://bigheaddc.com/2008/03/2…..an-mccain/
Damn that evil Liberal media!
Nasty little pigshit corporatist taintlapper. Wonder if he yet realizes the CIA and NSA were listening in while he was planning his starring role as the Prime Eater in “Two Boyz, An Anally Diseased Dick Cheney, One Cup?” It’s not all “Flowers For Velociraptor,” John.
Okay, Obama wanted to work the crowd. Somebody should tell him governing is not the same as electioneering. And dopey right-wingers have a right to ask questions like this because -guess what- it’s a fair question Or are the rules different now that Bush is gone?
Reflexively defending Obama is no better than worshiping Bush as a infallible.
Just want him treated like Bush, or better yet, that Republicans and Democrats get treated the same way. Do you really not get that, or are you just a dumbshit republikkan troll?
No, it’s a legitimate question, but then President Obama’s response was also legitimate. It’s fair to ask the President questions but it’s also fair for the President to say not now please, but I’ll answer questions later…
and I DON’T want President Obama treated like Bush, but I don’t want them to Clintonize him either. The press can (theoretically) question and watch the White House without going into trivia mode like they did from 1992*-2001, or simply spreading RW talking points like they did vs. Al Gore. Yeah, I know, I’m a crazy dreamer.
*I think they started even before Clinton was elected…
In case you have forgotten already, this is how Shrub would have played it:
1) Give the reporter a stupid nickname;
2) When the reporter wouldn’t give up, kick him out and replace him with a knob-headed manwhore.
Be careful what you wish for, sunshine.
Actually, “reflexively defending Obama” is absolutely better than “worshiping Bush as infallible”. Reflexively defending anyone leaves room to rethink your defense and change your opinion, and also leaves room to accept that that person may be wrong on other counts. Worshiping someone as infallible means you never, ever reconsider anything about what he’s said or done.
So, personalities aside, your statement is one of those false equivalences that generally irritates your audience and makes you look blind. Honest to God, “the behavior of some Obama supporters in this instance is exactly as bad, or worse than, the behavior of Bush supporters in every instance”. I don’t want to be a jerk, but that’s not a point I’d be willing to defend anywhere.
Which brings me to my second point, Obama has done enough right so far, and Bush has done enough wrong so far, that a defense of one may be warranted, but the argument that the other is infallible is both hilariously and tragically moronic. And will remain so until Obama loses thousands of American lives, a major American city, and blows up at least two foreign countries.
And, what woodrowfan said. “This is not a press conference, the press conference is later, I will answer your question then” seems perfectly reasonable, unless you think the president should be required to stop what he’s doing every time anyone wants to ask him something.
It was a stupid question. The “strict ban on lobbying” applies to those who leave the administration; they cannot join a lobbying firm while Obama is still in office. Additionally, the former lobbyists in the administration cannot participate in any policy making that may affect their former clients. He presumably knew that, but just wanted to be a prick. If he didn’t know that, well, he’s just another typical ignoramus.
I want transparency and lots of communication too. But the main stream press corp isn’t there to facilitate that, are they? It’s the dance of death between the mongoose and the cobra.
Oh NOW Politico gets all tough. Too late, assholes.
Big difference will be that Obama will continue to provide them with access, while shrub immediately took the axe to any journo (helen thomas?) with the courage (or professionalism and appreciation of what reporting really means) to ask a tough question.
Let’s see what happens down the road if the clown car posse continues to think that Robert’s gaffe at the Inauguration and the coats-in-the-oval-office are the only other issues of substance that should be pursued at a presser.
Oh, and I’m dying to see what kind of treatment Obama will give the Fox crew — for eight years they basically had their own team writing the press releases, and then their sycophantic anchor got to present it as the networks’ personal frat boys’ latest brain fart. Hopefully that’ll change, and Fox & Friends will be reduced to picking up the crumpled-up scraps of notepaper left behind by other reporters if they want to know anything.
Once it was necessary for Sam Donaldson to positively shout questions at Ronald Reagan as he was walking towards the Helicopter–because Reagan, famously, wasn’t answering *any* questions. But it would be quite inappropriate for someone to walk up to a President who has been extremely transparent and open with the press, *before* a press conference, and start shouting questions to his face as though he were running out the door. Its just rude and, of course, childish grandstanding.
aimai
exactly right. It’s just going to take some getting used to by all of us, having an intelligent president and having grownups in charge, instead of petulant children and whacko fundmentalist christians.
They call it Drudgico for a reason.
I’m looking forward to his pressers. I hope that Helen Thomas gets first, last, and every other damn question in the first dozen to make up for the shameful way she was treated by BushCo.
There are countless examples of Bush chastizing, ridiculing, insulting and demeaning the Whitehouse press corps. Assigning reporters nicknames was a deliberate attempt to trivialize their role. He behaved like an asshole.