Who Would’ve Thought? WH Reporters Chip Reid and Helen Thomas Criticize Obama’s Manipulation of Media at Phony Town Hall (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on July 1, 2009
I know she’s old as dirt, but Helen Thomas has been a tough, respected journalist for decades. Who would’ve thought a veteran reporter like Thomas would ever openly criticize Obama’s “lack of transparency” process with the media during a White House briefing? It is both refreshing and unexpected in this Age of Obama-mania. For once, someone from the current White House press corps asked Gibbs a real question and gave her unvarnished opinion that *gasp* sternly criticized The One. While watching this video, I was thinking, “You go, girl!”
And kudos also go to Chip Reid for taking a stand and not backing down when WH Press Secretary Robert Gibbs shot off a few flippant non-answer answers that were meant to get Reid to meekly drop his line of questioning. Media bias and the “Obama Love Affair” took a backseat, while journalistic probing and asking the tougher questions jumped to the front of the line… knock me over with a feather.
Let’s see if either of them will be uninvited to the White House press conferences in the future… LOL.
Excerpt from Hot Air:
Phony, that is, in the sense that the White House knows in advance the questions that’ll be asked, which makes the questioners de facto plants of the most transparent administration evah. I have no big problem with The One putting on a pageant — that’s standard presidential stagecraft in a television age — but I do have a problem with the NYT taking care to note the “orchestration” when Bush pulled this while neglecting to mention it this time. It’s in keeping with the media’s narratives about Dubya and Obama, though, the former shifty and stupid and therefore dependent on softballs, the latter “open” and ingenious and no longer required to prove his ability to handle tough questions. Also, and needless to say, while Thomas’s and Chip Reid’s effort is appreciated, O doesn’t need to shut out the press in order to “control” it. That’s what Rahm’s mad manipulation skillz are for, and what Rahm (and Axelrod) can’t control, old-fashioned liberal bias can be trusted to take care of.
WH Press Reporters Chip Reid and Helen Thomas take WH Press Secretary Robert Gibbs to Task about Obama’s Manipulation of the Media at Phony Town Hall
Related reading:
John Romano, Big Hollywood: Is America Waking Up?
Hot Air: Helen Thomas goes nuclear on White House again: “What the hell do they think we are, puppets?” and Blue on blue: Helen Thomas hammers Gibbs on Obama’s phony town hall and Obamateurism of the Day
Washington Post: Emanuel’s Mastery Of Reading Reporters
Dispatches from the Culture Wars: The Power of Images and the Hypocrisy of Blocking Them
John Nolte, Big Hollywood: Turnabout: ‘Transformers 2′ Takes a Shot at President Obama?
Pundit & Pundette: MSM: Obama WH worse than Nixon
Moderate in the Middle: Update: Helen goes after Team TOTUS Round Deux…Chip Reid and Helen Thomas take Robert Gibbs to task…
Michelle Malkin: Obama hand-holds Huffington Post blogger, snaps at dissident reporters and Obama-come-lately on Iran; O’s obligatory press conference and The Helen Thomas award and I see white people
Senate GOP Doctors: Have a Better Plan for Health Care, Not Socialized
bloghopenchangery: “Operation Zero” and a shout out to Helen Thomas!
GayPatriot: Obama & Palin: Blank Slates on Which “Journalists” Project Their Biases
Scared Monkeys: When the Press Attacks: Obama Wearing out his Welcome with Media … Not Even Nixon Tried to Control the Media Like Obama
Ace of Spades HQ: Politico Beclowns Itself in Sanford-esque Love of Mistress Obam; Claims, of Its Own Authority, That Obama Did Not Know Questions Which His Staffers Chose for Him
The Anchoress, First Things: Obama hardest working man in show business – UPDATED
Sister Toldjah: Our celebrity President and his staged “town hall” meetings
Pirate’s Cove: Obama Calls On HuffPo For Spiked Question
Quick Daily Hits – Politics and Such: White House Controlling What We Hear and How We Hear It — And Doing It In Plain Sight
The Carbon Fibber: I thought only candidates for School Board put shills in the audience.
Conservatives4Palin: Mark Hemingway: Who is the Palin Leaker from the McCain Campaign?
Ken Shepherd, NewsBusters: Chris Matthews Omits Party Label of Prudish Congressmen Calling for Viagra Ad Censorship
Greg Gutfeld, Big Hollywood: Daily Gut: Why Obama Hates Obamacare
RedState: Obama Asks Questions That Have Very Obvious Answers, Stick to the Teleprompter
Politico: Obama calls on HuffPost for Iran question UPDATE (question rigging)
Real Clear Politics: Video: CBS, Helen Thomas Challenge Gibbs On “Controlled” Town Hall Meeting
The West Coast Outpost: Video: WH Press Corps takes Gibbsy to task
Amused Cynic: “The Smile”….or “The Mask”? You decide….
Pirates! Man Your Women: When is a Town Hall Meeting Not a Town Hall Meeting?
GayPatriot: Obama Support Is Tanking
Myrna Sokoloff, Big Hollywood: ‘The Smile’: A Perfect Presidential Nickname
Gazzer’s Gabfest: President Stink-Eye?
About the author
Chip Reid – Helen Thomas – THANK YOU!
At 60 I feel as though I can hang a little hat on my ability to read into an administration. As a voter who has long took the stance that “may the best person win” I always try and keep my political views factual and without bias. Your taking to task this administration in yesterdays press conference, in my opinion, is long over do. Never have I seen an administration that is so hell bent to rush massive spending policies into law, been so soft and lame on foreign affairs, and been so manipulative of the press – all while not adhering to their own promise of transparency.
Let this be the death of the press puppet core that this administration has way too long had control over.
Rob Jenks
Florida