Reporters quoting critics in presidential pressers is as old as presidential pressers. A smart president would seize the moment as an opportunity to respond to their critics. But Obama isn’t the brightest light in the chandelier and isn’t used to the press not being a spokesperson for him.

Those darn Republicans! Luckily, with the MSM and the Democrat Party now indistinguishable from each other, reporters can serve up softballs to ace press secretary Robert Gibbs and watch in awe as he smacks them out of the park!

Not to mention offer helpful suggestions of their own concerning political strategy. (more…)

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

September 23, 2010

Press Conference by President Obama

8:03 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening.  I have several announcements.

Today, federal marshals delivered George W. Bush to The Hague for his war crimes trial next month. Attorney General Holder will cooperate fully with the tribunal.  My message to the world: even American presidents are not above international law.

Next, I will sign the “Voting Booth Transparency Act” when it reaches my desk on Tuesday.

Beginning in November, this long-overdue amendment to the “Freedom of Information Act” (FOIA) will rip away the veil of secrecy surrounding the act of voting.  Citizens will mark and sign their ballots before witnesses, and this information will become part of the public record.

Your friends, relatives, neighbors, union bosses, and SEIU thugs have a right to know if you voted the way they wanted you to or the way you said you would.  The days of isolated cubicles and anonymous marks on generic ballots are over.

At this time, I’d like to recognize Prince Nouria El-Aziz, my new White House Counselor on U. S.-Islamic relations.  [pointing] He’s the fellow in traditional Saudi dress standing against the wall next to Rahm Emanuel.  [El-Aziz bows to the president; Obama bows back]

His Majesty, King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz, honors me by assigning one of his 403 nephews to be his eyes and ears in the West Wing.

Now, uh, normally, I’d take two planted questions, ramble aimlessly in response, then call it quits. (more…)

ROBERT GIBBS: Your last prime-time news conference was nine months ago, sir.  Whispering’s started, what with this oil slick and all…

OBAMA: Look, I’ll do one-on-ones with people I respect—Olbermann, Matthews, David Brooks.  Isn’t that enough?

DAVID AXELROD: No, sir.  Time to show the national press some leg.  Fortunately, Bob’s bunnies haven’t tumbled yet to your contempt for them; they still believe you’re just wary.

GIBBS:  And they’re desperate for face time on national TV.  Sir, the entire White House press gang–Major Garrett and Jake Tapper excepted–made an offer today: you consent to do a nighttime newser, they’ll submit questions in advance and pledge not to follow up.  Sweetener: one free “Escape-from-the-Press-Pool” pass to… you know… take in a soccer game.

JOE BIDEN: Axe and the Gibbster are right, Boss.  I know you don’t wanna breathe the same air as those media clowns, so how ‘bout a compromise?  Conduct the first presidential  telepresser from Camp David. (more…)

It’s a notion commonly peddled by both Democrats and the MSM that President Obama is a “master communicator.” This notion is repeated by liberal television pundit and scribe ad nauseam apparently in the belief that endless repetition can turn Wish into Truth.

Yet empirical evidence and closer scrutiny suggest that Mr. Obama is actually less Great Communicator than Serial Monologist, in the vein of Jerry Seinfeld, the late George Carlin (sans profanity), or even (brace yourself) Glenn Beck. And frankly, all three of them talk rings around him.

For those who doubt my doubt of the President’s rhetorical prowess, consider the following. The April 13 press conference—a short one consisting of only 8 questions, all quite understandably on the nuclear security issue—was the first solo presser since July 22, 2009.

That’s a 265-day desert without presidential communication. Or 51 days longer (20%) than George W. Bush’s 214-day stretch (April 4-Nov. 4) of logophobia back in 2004. Bush emerged from his silence two days after the Nov. 2 presidential election, suggesting his self-imposed gag order was mainly a bit of “strategery”—an incumbent with the lead, playing ball-control so as not to make a fatal gaffe in the final quarter.

Which begs two questions. First, why is the President ducking the press conference Q&A arena? And second, what makes a “Great Communicator” great? (more…)

In the Honduran news fable, one of the central images on the mainstream media storyboard has been the press conference Mel Zelaya conducted in his pajamas in Costa Rica.

Yet the Honduran military has now declared on the record for the first time – in a judicial proceeding – that the pajama gambit was a fake.  They stated that Zelaya was sent out of Honduras fully dressed in normal clothing and his customary cowboy boots.  That is the same account of events that the Honduran authorities were privately telling people from the first moment, but no military official had ever stated it on the record until now.

From the first moment news commentators and arrogant interviewers would nail their argument by saying “when a president is flown out of the country in his pajamas how can that not be a military coup”.  No legal analysis was really needed because of the pajamas. (more…)