June 28, 2006
From the desk of Jane Galt:Funny journalistic moment of the day
The White House's title on the document providing Bush's remarks at last week's Vienna summit between US and EU leaders? "President Bush Participates in Press Availability at 2006 U.S.-EU Summit".
I'm thinking of going back to school to learn another language: Flack. I need to learn how to describe showing up for work in the morning as "Journalist participates in Boss availability opportunity at the New York office." That should get me the big raise.
Posted by Jane Galt at June 28, 2006 1:27 PM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound linksEr... what? You think the President should view the press as his employer rather than a gaggle of Democratic activists?
Er... what? You think the President should view the press as his employer
The President's employer is the U.S. people. Due to certain logistical details you may not have been aware of, he tends to make his progress reports via the press, instead of having weekly one-on-ones with his managers.
rather than a gaggle of Democratic activists?
Ah, yes, such as that famous liberal operative Jimmy Jeff Gannon Guckert.
Do you just enjoy trolling?
The President's employer is the U.S. people. Due to certain logistical details you may not have been aware of, he tends to make his progress reports via the press, instead of having weekly one-on-ones with his managers.
Sorry - I missed the part where I elected a member of the press to represent my interests and tell the President what to do. Where is he, and how can I fire him?
Ah, yes, such as that famous liberal operative Jimmy Jeff Gannon Guckert.
Never heard of him. Dan Rather on the other hand...
Suicide Bombers Fail to Hit Convoy in Afghanistan
good news what is this
Don't read too much into this. I was just tickled by the locution of giving a press conference as "participating in press availability", not trying to make some larger point about our democracy, or anything. Frankly, I'm still jet lagged and not up to such things.
The President's employer is the U.S. people. Due to certain logistical details you may not have been aware of, he tends to make his progress reports via the press, instead of having weekly one-on-ones with his managers.
The President's employer is Congress, not the American people -- Congress is the only entity he can actually be called to account by. If the American people are frustrated with the President's performance, well, that just doesn't matter at all, because the job is his for four years unless he's impeached.
Now, the President might metaphorically be said to be employed by the American people in the sense that he is supposed to care what they think. But he has no need of the press to communicate his message to the American people (he can grab airtime on the various networks for that) or to find out what the American people want (he has pollsters and researchers for that).
The function of the press is to sell ads for their employers. They do this by writing and broadcasting stuff people want to read or see, and "what the President is up to" is one of those things. The President talks to the press not because he needs their help in communicating to the American people, but because cooperating with the press limits the damage their reporting can do to him.
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