Well, good on them

.

OMFG! A WH press secretary fighting with the press!!!

Yawn.

She's always been a conservative hack anyway.

Oh, wait...

I wonder if this means the Right Wing will take Helen Thomas off the "Liberal Women vs Conservative Women" chart-thing.

In my opinion, Gibbs seems like a smarmy ass who deserves to be humiliated whenever opportunities arise. It is the constant giggling and the overwhelming condescension that speaks volumes about this guy and the administration that allows him to continue being its voice.

They were right, too. Obama promised a level of transperency that we haven't seen yet, and it's disapointing.

gibbs needs a good beeeatch slap.

/Hot like Dana Pereno

I made fun of Thomas when she cackled at the Bush administration, I must be consistent. I'm happy to see it because it means the honeymoon is over.

Since this is the second thread on the exact same topic from yesterday I will just cut and paste my response.


"Are you guys retarded, the white house wanted a question from the Iranian people, they knew the huffington post was in contact with people in the Iranian population and asked them to field a question from them. This is just a case of the old media getting it's panties in a wad because some blog got to ask the second question.

Have you ever listened to the questions Jeff Ganon asked Bush, compared to the actually hard questions proposed by the Huffington post, you would freaking laugh at this crap."

And yet some believe that this administration is transparent, open and forthright.

Some people are easy to fool because they want to believe, or be fooled.

cfish78: gibbs needs a good beeeatch slap.

No shiat. His constant giggling and acting like a twerp was getting pretty farking annoying.

Thank god. I was beginning to wonder how long it would take for the B-B-Bush! crowd to weigh in. Under ten!!
Because we all know that Bush made Obama "forget" about his promise of being transparent.
Or maybe he just "changed" his mind?

Nothing in this regard is as clumsy or awful as how the Bush team handled things, so everything looks better in comparison. But this is a legitimate point and, on the one hand, the Obama team are not living up to the expectations they set and, on the other, Gibbs is over-matched. Can't really think on his feet - and that is at the top of the list on his job description.

I'm as pro-Obama as they get but the reporters have a very valid point here.

jcooli09: They were right, too. Obama promised a level of transperency that we haven't seen yet, and it's disapointing.

Indeed. And the smug attitude with which this issue keeps getting brushed away is aggravating.

Anyone else remember when political threads were more than people posting once or twice with a talking point then leave?

Umokay: In my opinion, Gibbs seems like a smarmy ass who deserves to be humiliated whenever opportunities arise. It is the constant giggling and the overwhelming condescension that speaks volumes about this guy and the administration that allows him to continue being its voice.

Have you seen the other people in that room? Besides Thomas, the White House Press Corps is the smarmiest bunch of journalist/stenographers in existence, for god's sake, they got all pissed when one of them wasn't called for the second question in a press conference! Sometimes you get the press sec, you deserve, not the one you need.

she's hot

log_jammin: Anyone else remember when political threads were more than people posting once or twice with a talking point then leave?

Are you going to post twice?

Bartman66: Thank god. I was beginning to wonder how long it would take for the B-B-Bush! crowd to weigh in. Under ten!!
Because we all know that Bush made Obama "forget" about his promise of being transparent.
Or maybe he just "changed" his mind?

Hey if it's anything like the But Clinton crowd, your going to hear it for the next 9 years. Because people are blaming Gov. Stanford on Clinton at this point... :-p

Umokay: In my opinion, Gibbs seems like a smarmy ass who deserves to be humiliated whenever opportunities arise. It is the constant giggling and the overwhelming condescension that speaks volumes about this guy and the administration that allows him to continue being its voice.

Pfft. Idiots deserve nothing BUT condescension. Treating braindead retards like their opinions matter just encourages tham and confuses others.

Bullshiat needs to be treated like bullshiat: Sneered at, laughed at, and called out for bullshiat.

The people deserve the openness promised them in the campaign. We all know that a politician will make promises that they can't keep but it is usually because of political opposition, in this case Obama's opposition wants him to be as transparent as he promised. The lack of transparency is self regulated by him and his administration, they are playing the people for fools.

Obama can't think on his feet and needs planted questions. End of story.

Yes. Maybe one more time too just to show I'm cooler than average.

They are just pissed that Rahm slipped a blogger into the press room with are pre-written question. They could care less about transparency. They just don't want their territory invaded.

badhatharry: They are just pissed that Rahm slipped a blogger into the press room with are pre-written question. They could care less about transparency. They just don't want their territory invaded.

Well, Rahm-mel did learn under the tutelage of mayor Daley and Obama under Emil Jones. It is "da Chicago Way". Pretty soon, they will be tearing down Dulles and making it into a park and trying to get the dumb ass Olympics.

Astralwand: Since this is the second thread on the exact same topic from yesterday I will just cut and paste my response.


"Are you guys retarded, the white house wanted a question from the Iranian people, they knew the huffington post was in contact with people in the Iranian population and asked them to field a question from them. This is just a case of the old media getting it's panties in a wad because some blog got to ask the second question.

Have you ever listened to the questions Jeff Ganon asked Bush, compared to the actually hard questions proposed by the Huffington post, you would freaking laugh at this crap."

Agreed, we have an improvement over the constant stream of lies from the last administration. Also, bush clearly preselected the reporters he called on, and he was very selective about people in attendance when he appeared in public.

But bush was a steaming pile of dung who shouldn't be used as a yardstick except to measure fail.

While it's too early to judge Obama's overall success, he could and should be doing better in this area.

Astralwand: Since this is the second thread on the exact same topic from yesterday I will just cut and paste my response.


"Are you guys retarded, the white house wanted a question from the Iranian people, they knew the huffington post was in contact with people in the Iranian population and asked them to field a question from them. This is just a case of the old media getting it's panties in a wad because some blog got to ask the second question.

Have you ever listened to the questions Jeff Ganon asked Bush, compared to the actually hard questions proposed by the Huffington post, you would freaking laugh at this crap."

At least the Old Media makes some pretense of not being in bed with the government.

I'm not sure you understand what the White House Press Office did and probably you aren't even aware of what they are being accused of doing in this video. It's called Managing the News and/or Manufacturing Consent. You've probably heard of that last term, some really smart guy and his pal wrote a book on it.

The hoopla is not that the Huffington Post got the second question. It isn't that they ask "hard questions" and the Old Media doesn't (which isn't always true). It is that the White House pre-selected that reporter and his question and gave him foreknowledge and even escorted him to his seat, etc etc etc. It doesn't matter if the question is of substance or if it was a Jeff Gannon softball, it is still the Press and the Government colluding to present a point of view outside of any critical commentary.

Which is what the Obama Administration apparently wants. I mean, seriously, "email your questions to us"?

A town hall meeting is not a town hall meeting if there are gatekeepers in place to keep out the rabble, whether they are on the problem causing far right or the problem causing far left. It becomes a pep rally, just like in high school when they put all the trouble makers in detention before putting all the "good children" in the gym to exercise some good old fashioned Fourth Reich groupthink.

And a White House press conference does not serve the public if all the questions are pre-screened and approved. Sure, maybe they would still ask softball questions but at least there would be a chance of a Helen Thomas holding someone's feet to the fire.

I'm biased...this is the guy who PWNED Hannity on Hannity's show. I can, and always will *heart* him for that...even if he steamrolls over a litter of puppies while asssmacking a unicorn.

Yes, they are making a valid point, but not for the reasons we're all hoping. This is the spoiled child not getting what they want when they want it. They don't care about transparency, they care about their ability to make themselves part of the news stories.

ABC News is the golden child as it gets to work from the Blue Room to help craft and package the news on the healthcare plan. Helen Thomas and CBS News: "Why not us? Doesn't He love us, too?"

When is the last time we had a press secretary who wasn't a lying douche?

I am pretty sure it's in the job description.

These "town hall" meetings are always set-up. They don't just let any wacko get up and ask a question. McCain actually tried that and some idiot accused Obama of being a secret muslim. The White House press room is a different story.

Gibbs: We can have this discussion ad nauseam...
Thomas: Of course we can, because you don't have any answers.
Gibbs: (giggling)

What an asshole.

BeatrixK: I'm biased...this is the guy who PWNED Hannity on Hannity's show.

Link?

Tyee: And yet some believe that this administration is transparent, open and forthright.

Some people are easy to fool because they want to believe, or be fooled.

Christ, I was coming in here to say that even as an Obama supporter I am severely saddened to see this pre-selection is still going on. And then you had to go and fark that all up by saying the delusional rantings of anti-obama nutjobs are the ONLY people not completely snowed by all things democratic.

Christ, just shut the fark up.

badhatharry: They are just pissed that Rahm slipped a blogger into the press room with are pre-written question. They could care less about transparency. They just don't want their territory invaded.

They're conflating the two issues because their egos are so huge, and Gibbs is exploiting that because he's paid to be an asshole.

terriblist: They're conflating the two issues because their egos are so huge, and Gibbs is exploiting that because he's paid to be an asshole


yeah, those pesky journalists.

poorcku: terriblist: They're conflating the two issues because their egos are so huge, and Gibbs is exploiting that because he's paid to be an asshole


yeah, those pesky journalists.

Do you really think that she just now figured out that town hall meetings have pre-screened questions? Do you really think they are just now realizing that they are puppets used by the administration? They are letting the White House know that they are the puppet master and Gibbs is the puppet.

poorcku: terriblist: They're conflating the two issues because their egos are so huge, and Gibbs is exploiting that because he's paid to be an asshole


yeah, those pesky journalists.

Hey man, I'm a journalist myself, but I have more respect for Nico at HuffPo than most of them. The "he got a call before the press conference" is a non-issue. Who cares? He's a journalist; he presumably would have been prepared to ask a question regardless; and he asked a question tough enough that Obama felt the need to dodge it. If elite Washington reporters had their emotions in check a bit more, they could ignore that incident and more strongly press Gibbs on the details of the town hall meeting.

mat catastrophe: It is that the White House pre-selected that reporter and his question and gave him foreknowledge and even escorted him to his seat, etc etc etc. It doesn't matter if the question is of substance or if it was a Jeff Gannon softball, it is still the Press and the Government colluding to present a point of view outside of any critical commentary.

Which is what the Obama Administration apparently wants. I mean, seriously, "email your questions to us"?

That's not entirely true. I heard Chris Dodd on NPR after that & he said that the Obama administration does kinda pre-select the reporters by telling them an hour or so ahead of time that they MAY be called on and are simply asked to make their questions relevant.

In the case of Nico Pitney, the administration had been getting most of their information from his live blogging on Iran. A White House staffer called Nico to thank him for his work & ASKED if he was going to be at the press conference. Even when he showed up, they still never guaranteed he'd be called on.

From Nico's blog: I received a call from White House staff saying they had seen what I'd written and thought the President might be interested in receiving a question directly from an Iranian.

The White House didn't guarantee that I would be able to ask a question. But I decided that if there was even a chance, I should try to reach out to as many Iranians as possible. (new window)

As for emailing the questions, that option was up for a couple of days on Obama's Facebook page, at the very least. I know I got that message on there. So some WH staffers slog through thousands of questions and choose the most relevant. Obama doesn't see the questions and none of them were softballs, anyway.

All I see in this video is a lot of whining and 2 reporters trying to manufacture controversy. No other president has invited questions from the internet before, so now it's under attack? What would you rather have--a few people in VA asking questions because they could make the town hall or taking questions from all over? I think the latter would be a better representation of the population. Maybe that defeats the purpose of calling it a "town hall meeting", but then you're just arguing semantics.

Gibbs is such a douchebag, if this was happening under bush you wouldn't hear the end of it.

terriblist: poorcku: terriblist: They're conflating the two issues because their egos are so huge, and Gibbs is exploiting that because he's paid to be an asshole


yeah, those pesky journalists.

Hey man, I'm a journalist blogger myself, but I have more respect for Nico at HuffPo than most of them. The "he got a call before the press conference" is a non-issue. Who cares? He's a journalist blogger; he presumably would have been prepared to ask a question regardless; and he asked a question tough enough that Obama felt the need to dodge it. If elite Washington reporters had their emotions in check a bit more, they could ignore that incident and more strongly press Gibbs on the details of the town hall meeting.

FTFY.

Also, what kind of journalist writes a sentence with two semicolons?

Spanky_McFarksalot: Gibbs is such a douchebag, if this was happening under bush you wouldn't hear the end of it.

===================================

Give him a few more years to catch up to the bush administration.

wtg fark. this was like a week ago on every other site. gj.

Astralwand 2009-07-03 09:07:10 AM
Bartman66: Thank god. I was beginning to wonder how long it would take for the B-B-Bush! crowd to weigh in. Under ten!!
Because we all know that Bush made Obama "forget" about his promise of being transparent.
Or maybe he just "changed" his mind?

Hey if it's anything like the But Clinton crowd, your going to hear it for the next 9 years. Because people are blaming Gov. Stanford on Clinton at this point... :-p


you are right. That is just as stupid as people for 8yrs crying about how Bush is not my pres and he stole the election etc.... and then now get "offended" when someone says that they don't like Obama's policy.
But any elected official (or anyone in that matter) tries to blame someone else for their own stupid actions is getting what they derserve. I am tired of the "who crapped in my pants" cry from people who get busted doing something they should not of been doing in the first place and they KNEW IT.

mat catastrophe: terriblist: poorcku: terriblist: They're conflating the two issues because their egos are so huge, and Gibbs is exploiting that because he's paid to be an asshole


yeah, those pesky journalists.

Hey man, I'm a journalist blogger myself, but I have more respect for Nico at HuffPo than most of them. The "he got a call before the press conference" is a non-issue. Who cares? He's a journalist blogger; he presumably would have been prepared to ask a question regardless; and he asked a question tough enough that Obama felt the need to dodge it. If elite Washington reporters had their emotions in check a bit more, they could ignore that incident and more strongly press Gibbs on the details of the town hall meeting.

FTFY.

Also, what kind of journalist writes a sentence with two semicolons?

You really want to get into this with me? Not that I care much about the distinction between print and online journalism, but I've written several cover stories for a few (quite small!) national print magazines, along with countless shorter articles. By this point in my career I know that yes, you can string three independent clauses together using two semicolons.

What's your angle here? Just being a dick for fun?

terriblist: You really want to get into this with me? Not that I care much about the distinction between print and online journalism, but I've written several cover stories for a few (quite small!) national print magazines, along with countless shorter articles. By this point in my career I know that yes, you can string three independent clauses together using two semicolons.

What's your angle here? Just being a dick for fun?


/Hot like your Grammatical rage ;P

//I happen to agree with your point though.

This is completely Bush's fault. How could it be anyone else's?

Obama supporter here. I agree 100% percent with the old bag and her peers on this one.