Not so fast on the dwindling Bush entourage

It's still true that shrinking news budgets, soaring gas prices and a slow-news White House in its last seven months have combined to lessen media interest in traveling with President Bush.

But threaten to take away reporters' pool reports -- those insider details on what happened within rooms too small to accommodate the entire White House press corps -- and man, they show they care.

Yesterday's announcement by the White House Correspondents Assn. that it was planning to limit access to pool reports to only those traveling with the president met with a torrent of objections.

You think reporters are tough on the president of the United States, you should see how they treat the president of the WHCA! (And believe me I know of what I speak here, having served my country, um, press corps as WHCA president during the first Bush presidency and taken my share of phone calls from disgruntled colleagues.) One had the good sense to note that Ann Compton of ABC News had touched "the third rail" of White House press relations.

My colleague Mark Silva of the Chicago Tribune wrote an impassioned plea -- for access. "The idea that pool reporting on the road with the president will be available only to those who travel and pay for it should be repugnant to our profession," he wrote. "I call it pay to play. Another colleague calls it means-testing." Whatever it's called, said Silva, "This is the journalistic equivalent of soft money -- 25 grand (of your employer’s money) buys you a VIP pool report."

The WHCA insists the policy is just temporary -- until a new administration assumes office, sparking more press interest in traveling, never mind the costs. And so far, despite repeated calls to reconsider, it's standing firm.

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: Paul Morse / White House

Comments

[JWargo]

Seems like the Republicans just don't get that their problems are much bigger than Bush. When he exits, they won't be able to rebound without getting rid of all the other horrible leaders who have been around since the beginning of the mess and done nothing to fix the problems.

So... the democrats problems of unity (created in the last few months) are nothing compared to the republicans long standing issues within the party.

Check out this article--- Bye Bye Boehner
http://www.greenfaucet.com/hanlons-pub/bye-bye-boehner-part-ii
to see why they need a major overhaul