Will It Matter?

That's the question I have after reading Charles Babington's Washington Post article. Here's a glimpse into the article:
As he defends his Iraq policy with a public campaign of speeches and a recent news conference, President Bush also has been waging a private campaign that has included off-the-record sessions with White House reporters, sources said yesterday. One gathering, which took place Thursday in the White House residence, was an unusual gesture by Bush, who has agreed to comparatively few lengthy exchanges with reporters during his five years in office.
I'm glad that President Bush is doing more of this. It isn't that these meeting will dramatically change relations between his administration and the Beltway media. I'm glad because the reporters like the feeling that they aren't seen as second class citizens. Theoretically, that shouldn't matter in the reportage but it does.

Now the question remains whether these meeting will make a dime's worth of difference in press coverage. I'm not hoping that these meetings will cause a major shift in the coverage. I just hope that this means the press won't be as distrustful of the President as they have been.

I suspect that it might thaw things for awhile but it won't last. It's too bad that the major media is so cynical of administrations. And yes, they've been cynical on a bipartisan basis, at least when it comes to scandals. (They weren't cynical of Clinton's policies because they agreed with them so totally.)

Cross-posted at California Conservative

Originally posted Tuesday, March 28, 2006, revised 29-Mar 12:56 AM

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