Helene Cooper of The New York Times worries that by talking directly to the American public, President-elect Obama is bypassing the media.
WASHINGTON--President-elect Barack Obama says that he wants to make his administration more responsive to the American people. To that end, his aides are introducing a host of YouTube and other efforts aimed at bypassing the media and communicating directly with voters.
It remains to be seen whether this effort will yield satisfaction on either end of the spectrum--John Q. Public may have as difficult a time getting answers out of government officials as representatives of the mainstream media do. But to get a glimpse of how bypass-the-press might work, look no further than the Bush administration.
Fair enough. Let's take a look.
George W. Bush held 9 news conferences during his transition.
As of Thursday, President-elect Obama has held 12 -- more than any other incoming president ever.
It's true that Bush had an abbreviated transition schedule due to the Florida recount.
On the other hand, we're still more than a month away from the inauguration.