Tuesday, May 18, 2010

No, it's not really irony

Check this out:

There was some rich irony at the White House today -- President Obama signed the Press Freedom Act, and then promptly refused to take any questions.

Irony? Not so much. I believe the term you're looking for in this instance is "obedience training." Wait, you think that's too harsh? Well consider the question that fearless reporter Chip Reid asked:

So after he signed the bill, and as the press "wranglers" began aggressively herding us out of the room, I asked if he still has confidence in BP. He ignored the question so I tried this: "In the interest of press freedom, would you take a couple questions on BP?"

Not a question about something the president can control, mind you. A question about a private company, one that he bashed last week. These guys aren't going to ask the President any tough questions, anyway.

Here's the deal, Chip -- may I call you Chip? We have freedom of the press. Yet the Washington press corps chooses to be, ahem, stenographers and then y'all are surprised and hurt when this administration doesn't respect you in the morning. There's no irony in a lack of self-awareness.

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