Obama and the White House Press Corps

The relationship between Barack and the White House Press Corps is very special.

Pure enchantment.

Mark Knoller, CBS News White House correspondent, tried to explain why members of the press leapt to their feet when Obama entered the briefing room unannounced last Friday.

Knoller attempted to cover for the fact that the press didn't respond to President Bush with the same respect, or adoration.

Here's the dueling video:



Knoller writes:

Some people noticed that many reporters rose from their seats last Friday when President Obama unexpectedly entered the White House briefing room, but the same courtesy was not always extended in the past when President Bush would make an appearance.

...It’s a long-standing practice for reporters to rise when the president enters the East Room for a news conference, but that hasn’t been the case in the briefing room.

I checked with two colleagues who served as senior wire service reporters during the Bush Presidency and who, in matters of press protocol, the rest of us followed.

“The briefing room is always a more informal place,” says Steve Holland of Reuters.

But the principal reason reporters remained in their seats, he said, was not to block the shot of TV cameramen and still photographers in the back of the room who were trying to make a picture of the president’s walk-in.

No disrespect was intended for President Bush and to the best of my knowledge none was taken.

No. Of course not.

In addition, it only takes about three steps for the president to reach the lectern from the press room door. He’d be ready to begin and many reporters would barely be out of their seats, which used to be further complicated by swivel desks that had to be shifted out of the way.

When some reporters stood up for President Obama last Friday, they forgot about the needs of their colleagues in the back of the room as well as the less formal atmosphere of the briefing room. Certainly it was a sign of respect for the president, but not one of disrespect for his predecessor.

It was President Obama’s first time at the briefing room lectern since taking office and for some new members of the White House Press, it was their first time seeing a president enter the room as well.

This is lame.

Knoller gives plausible reasons why the press didn't stand for President Bush. However, he does not give a reasonable explanation for why they did stand for Obama.

The reporters supposedly "forgot about the needs of their colleagues in the back."

Ha! How did they forget? Were they overcome, swept off their feet and unable to contain their excitement? Was it a simultaneous group thrill up the leg that propelled them out of their seats?

Do the members of the press always respond that way when a president loses his briefing room virginity, as Obama did on Friday?

Give me a break. That first time stuff is ridiculous.

They stood for Obama because they're in love with him. He's so enchanting.

I'm sure they were hoping to hear Obama shout his trademark, "I love you back."

It didn't happen, but some things don't have to be said.