I think we all know by now that the hard part of reporting on the Bush administration is that they control the message with an iron grip. The flip side is that anyone with the temerity to ask hard questions may find it difficult to keep their press pass. We have seen this tactic work with devastating effectiveness in both the campaign [restricting public access], and in the White House press room.
More below. Fast load, fast read, easy answers. Poll.
Well, what if they gave a press conference and nobody came? Seriously. If the administration will not provide substantive answers to questions; the "message" is vertically integrated, top-down and not subject to debate, what's the point of even going to the White House? 'Specially since the entire Washington press corps has now been outed as an organization of the blind leading the deaf and dumb.
I hereby propose that the entire White House press corps elect one single reporter [rotated] for each public briefing, press conference, or event promoted by this administration for the next thirty days. That is, only one reporter. Period. Print, radio, television, and online.
The message would be clear: act like the President of the United States and respond to the questions of the American people, or we will get our information from a reliable source.
The people here on dKos have managed, along with an army of bloggers, to find answers to questions without once having to deal directly with this White House. 'Nuf said.
Like they say in the movies: The only way to win the game is not to play.
[NOTE: The author's presence is required in the kitchen for Honey-do work. Back later.]