Press Upset at Being Managed by Obama (Like The Press Manages the People)
Robert Gibbs
By now you may have heard that Helen Thomas, the veteran journalist who has covered the White House for around 50 years, got into a tiff with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
It seems Thomas and some other members of the media have gotten their feathers ruffled because they believe the White House is trying to manage them and control them (any chances these “journalists” might now have a clue how we the American people feel at being managed by the “mainstream” media on a daily basis?).
Below is a video of the incident, and thanks to CNS News here is a partial transcript:
Helen Thomas: “That’s not his point. The point is the control–”
Reid: “Exactly.”
Thomas: “We have never had that in the White House. And we have had some, but not– This White House.”
Gibbs: “Yes, I was going to say, I’ll let you amend her question.”
Thomas: “I’m amazed. I’m amazed at you people who call for openness and transparency and—”
Gibbs: “Helen, you haven’t even heard the questions.”
Reid: “It doesn’t matter. It’s the process.”
Thomas: “You have left open—”
Reid: “Even if there’s a tough question, it’s a question coming from somebody who was invited or was screened, or the question was screened.”
Thomas: “It’s shocking. It’s really shocking.”
Gibbs: “Chip, let’s have this discussion at the conclusion of the town hall meeting. How about that?”
Reid: “Okay.”
Gibbs: “I think—“
Thomas: “No, no, no, we’re having it now–”
Gibbs: “Well, I’d be happy to have it now.”
Thomas: “It’s a pattern.”
Gibbs: “Which question did you object to at the town hall meeting, Helen?”
Thomas: “It’s a pattern. It isn’t the question—”
Gibbs: “What’s a pattern?”
Thomas: “It’s a pattern of controlling the press.”
Gibbs: “How so? Is there any evidence currently going on that I’m controlling the press–poorly, I might add.”
Thomas: “Your formal engagements are pre-packaged.”
Gibbs: “How so?”
Reid: “Well, and controlling the public—”
Thomas: “How so? By calling reporters the night before to tell them they’re going to be called on. That is shocking.”
Gibbs: “We had this discussion ad nauseam and—”
Thomas: “Of course you would, because you don’t have any answers.”
In case you might be thinking, “The press finally gets it,” don’t get excited.
They’re not so much upset that you the consumer of news is being managed and controlled; they’re upset that they, the self-appointed guardians of the information you receive, the ones who feel it is their job to decide what you see and hear, are being managed by an administration they saw as “friendly” to their ideology.
They know that administration is still in line with what they want to see happen to our country, but the administration isn’t massaging their journalist egos the way they feel they’re entitled to, they feel offended that President Obama and his staff don’t trust them to manage the flow of information that you, the unwashed masses, receive.
While I wouldn’t hold my breath for any unvarnished coverage of the Obama Administration’s agenda and behavior, if the administration continues to try to manage the press like a bunch of Chicago thugs, they may find at least some of that varnish falling off…perhaps at a time when they need maximum varnish for their egregious socialist schemes.
Note: Reader comments are reviewed before publishing, and only salient comments that add to the topic will be published. Profanity is absolutely not allowed and will be summarily deleted. Spam, copied statements and other material not comprised of the reader’s own opinion will also be deleted.
