If Obama gave a press conference in the BRADY room to talk about gun control, and the first three questions from the White House press corps were all about the fiscal cliff (along with two follow ups), what would that say about a) the state of our watchdog media today, b) the chances of the media getting behind any serious attempt to overcome the NRA and the gun lobby c) the general level of empathy for dead kids among the WH press corps?
Discuss, because that’s exactly what is happening as I write.
I watched, too, and was kind of shocked with the seeming unawareness of what Obama had just said. One reporter finally asked a question relevant to the subject of the press conference, although, IIRC, it was in the vein of “Yeah, and what do you think you’ll actually accomplish?”
I didn’t quite get Jake Tapper’s question at the end, which seemed to be along the same lines, but President Obama’s response got a little sharp. The transcript probably should be checked on that.
Dead kids? What? We’ve got our deadlines to write about another manufactured gummint crisis. Much easier to do.
Kevin Drum is annoyed, too.
I think very nasty things about the Washington
poodle packpress corps and the “fiscal cliff” Perils of Pauline serial. However, I don’t want the press to be either a political player or the Greek chorus for the country. This doesn’t mean that I believe the myth of press objectivity; just that I don’t want to see the press prioritizing any political goal above aggressive, accurate reporting.However, if the press does adopt a political goal and wants to display a level of empathy for dead kids, can I nominate the drone strikes in the Middle East as a suitable subject?
Looked at coldly, the fiscal cliff issue would kill one heck of a lot more people than some jerk with an assault rifle.
Sam Knight: