Yeah, Why Not!

We should have run this yesterday, it would have fit nicely with the Jake Tapper riff.



The title of this post signals our taking an affirmative position on the question Ana Maire Cox asked this past Sunday;

Why We Should Get Rid of the White House Press Corps

Yet too often, the White House briefing room is where news goes to die.

Name a major political story broken by a White House correspondent. A thorough debunking of the Bush case for Iraqi WMD? McClatchy Newspapers' State Department and national security correspondents. Bush's abuse of signing statements? The Boston Globe's legal affairs correspondent. Even Watergate came off The Washington Post's Metro desk.

[Snip]

But putting a horde of reporters on the site where the big decisions about the country's future are made is no guarantee of enhanced coverage. Instead of heaping more telegenic reporters into a single White House beat, break up the work among the corps of plugged-in journalists. When the president speaks out on AIG, let financial and labor reporters truth-squad him; when North Korea launches a missile, let defense and Asia specialists assess the White House reaction. Let the beleaguered journalism business prove its worth by providing something you can't get by watching the White House's YouTube channel.

Now, I feel confident, that in just writing this piece, Ana Marie ruffled a whole flock of feathers.

But it is not far-fetched, that some Managing Editor looks at this proposal, says "Hmmmmm", that would certainly be one way, for a newspaper, or television network, to, how-should-we-say, stand above the crowd, a bit.

We know of, at least, one White House correspondent, that won't be sad to leave the post, as it is likely, he would have been replaced at the next Presidential News Conference, anyway.

I mean, even the guy who writes the obituaries could probably come up with better questions.

Ain't that so, Chuck Todd?


Bonus Riffs

Top Ten Cloves: Reasons President Bush Decided Not To Be Funny At WHCA Dinner

WHCA Dinner - Hey, Check That Guy For A Pulse! ...Rich Little ... Frank Dell ... Frank Dell ... Rich Little