Today, President Bush makes Web history
Sometime around 5 p.m. EDT today, watch for a little bit of Web and White House history: President Bush's first interview conducted only with online organizations. 
Mike Allen of Politico.com will be questioning the president for the online and ink-on-paper outlet, as well as Yahoo.com. A video crew will record the roughly 20-minute session in the Roosevelt Room at midday for posting about five hours later, just as the president is scheduled to leave Washington to begin a five-day Middle East trip.
Is it a big deal? Not in the format.
"It's just like any other interview," Deputy White House Press Secretary Tony Fratto said.
And Allen, per usual, will offer up a story on the talk. But the online sites also will provide access to the full, unedited video, along with sections parceled out on different topics.
For Allen, Politico.com's chief political writer, the interview will be much like any other --except it will be conducted in front of a video camera.
"He's George Stephanopoulos," Fratto said.
Well, Stephanopoulous without hair.
Fratto said Politico and Yahoo approached ...
the White House with the idea several months ago. "It's a unique format," he said, noting that Bush "does lots of interviews" but that "very, very few are aired in their entirety."
And that is what politicians and their aides so often long for: Unfiltered access to viewers, and for a very long time.
"The exciting thing about this is [the video] is up there all the time," Fratto said.
For better or worse, for all concerned.
-- James Gerstenzang.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Don Frederick has served as an editor helping guide coverage of every presidential election since 1984. He is a third-generation Washingtonian, so watching the political world comes naturally to him.
Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000.
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This very old media interview is being posted on a couple of websites (and no, it isn't online only - Politico does have a print edtion which comes out 3 times a week http://www.politico.com/inprint.html ).
The surprising thing is Politico/Yahoo didn't ask us for some tough questions for Bush. I could think of enough on my own to fill up 20 minutes (about the length the interview would be on the PBS Newshour which would run it in full or 60 Minutes which would edit it).
Posted by: Steve Rhodes | May 13, 2008 at 01:27 AM
Dear Mr. Bush: The Center for Public Integrity has catalogued 935 lies that you and members of your administration told in the runup to the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Is it time to come clean on that? And where is Osama bin Laden?
Posted by: Bill | May 13, 2008 at 04:17 AM
Who cares ?? The only news of bush I want to hear, other than he's back in Texas for good, is no news.
Posted by: Ken | May 13, 2008 at 07:25 AM
George who?
Posted by: N.E. BodybutHillary | May 13, 2008 at 01:17 PM