Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly.
He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
The Washington press corps is like that big extended family with a terrible secret that cannot be confronted because everyone knows how bad it would be if the discussion ever got real. The event at the center of this neurotic system: the failure to detect a phony case for war in 2002 and 2003 and more generally to challenge the Bush forces after 9/11. And this wasn’t just any failure. For a press that imagines itself a watchdog, failing to detect a faulty case for war, then watching the war unfold into the biggest foreign policy disaster in memory… that is an event so huge and deflating that it amounts to an identity crisis. Now add to that very specific failure a larger lesson that is also too painful to face: in Washington access journalism has been a bust. It doesn’t work. Its practices made possible the spectacular fall down in the run-up to the Iraq War. (Under Obama it’s been so thin that Politico is this week asking: is the White House press corps becoming obsolete?)
After a maximal failure like 2002-04 there needed to be a critical reckoning with the whole idea of “access to inside sources as reliable route to scoops.” You can’t maintain that idea and think of yourself as a watchdog, an adversarial force. Not with what happened in the run-up to the Iraq war.
But what if you still want both? Your scoop system, and your self-image as a watchdog. Your insider status, and the critical distance that with the right story could make you a hero of the republic. What if you want your parties with the powerful, and your check on power. What if you have to choose between these alternatives, but you can’t choose because the family has no history of making difficult choices like that. In circumstances like this, you are going to pick denial. And here we find a subterranean route into the Washington Hilton tonight.
I loved the Luther segment, but I also loved the entire performance by the president. He is enormously talented, even doing comedy.
There was a lot of truth telling by Obama last night and it was still very, very funny. Best combination of truth telling and humor since Colbert at the WH correspondence dinner.
Maybe we screwed up in 1968 by not electing Pat Paulsen when we had the chance. A Pat Paulsen/George Carlin ticket wouldn’t just have been funnier than Nixon’s “sock it to me,” but would have been better at running the country.
A Jon Stewart/Steve Colbert ticket would be a relief from the 2016 GOP clown car and Democrats regressing back to the days when party bosses chose the nominee.
next year, after using the Republican majority to put through TPP, he’ll be laughing at us.
on April 27, 2015 at 12:50 pm
If only Obama could be as tough on the press and the Repubs the other 364 days of the year. Instead we get Mr Moderate Nice Guy offering moderate proposals and policies and plays that inch the ball down the field.
…
Accordingly, a particular teaser clip from Vanity Fair for the documentary “Nerd Prom” proves to be absolutely delicious. In the clip, former Politico reporter Patrick Gavin decides to ask some of the celebrities attending the dinner to name a single White House correspondent. And, of course, no one can.
Wonder how many could name the VP, SOS, Senate Majority Leader, Speaker of the House, and Chief Justice of the SCOTUS.
Big difference. I’d be embarrassed if I couldn’t name the people on your list, but I’d be proud to have never heard of Chuck Todd, Mike Allen and their hack colleagues.
Difference between you and the subject celebrities is that you weren’t invited and chose to attend the WHCA dinner. You may be proud not to know the names of those hacks, but good manners dictate knowing their names if you go to their freaking party.
What percentage of Americans would you guess could name those individuals that you’d be embarrassed not to know?
A quarter of Americans surveyed could not correctly answer that the Earth revolves around the sun and not the other way around, according to a report out Friday from the National Science Foundation.
Figures. We’ve got, what, about two people in the msm explaining science to the public. Neil deGrasse Tyson (no relation to Mike probably), and that nerdy bow-tied Science Guy. And science is given only occasional footnote-to-a-footnote coverage by the big media. CNN used to have a regular Science News segment, but it got axed years ago and the reporter, if he’s still around, is probably only a part-timer there at best.
Not sure also if they’ve improved teaching science in the public schools either. In my day, back when public schools were well-funded and respected, even then the ones teaching science weren’t exactly lighting up the room with their brilliance or enthusiasm. Yeah, I got the football coach and the droners.
Fed budgets for scientific research have also been cut lately. Nasa no longer has big budgets and big plans underway to inspire young potential scientists and explorers. And one major political party is determined to destroy scientific education.
Other than that, things look pretty good for public scientific education in this country.
on April 27, 2015 at 9:47 am
That’s kind of a ridiculous comparison. I wouldn’t consider not knowing who the WH reporters are as some indication of a lack of civics IQ like not knowing the VP etc.
I’m fairly well informed, but couldn’t tell you WH correspondent names either, beyond Sam Donaldson, Dan Rather and Roger Mudd. IOW, if you don’t watch the nightly 22 minutes of headline reading, gossip and light feel-good features, you aren’t likely to know a lot of these people’s names. I stopped watching regularly 35 yrs ago, probably when I got cable and CNN.
And if you don’t regularly read the propaganda that the newspapers publish as political news — I dropped my LAT subscription 15 yrs ago and refuse to give the lying NYT a nickel — you won’t know those names either. What matters is to recognize the appalling state of the MSM, its falsity, lack of honest investigative reporting. I get my news from a variety of online and cable sources, not from the old MSM guard of hacks and propagandists, the overpaid WH correspondents.
Do you attend large, professional galas/parties and not have a clue as to who the hosts are?
In such instances, I not only needed to know the names of principles but their spouses as well.
on April 27, 2015 at 12:44 pm
It’s irrelevant when the whole point for celebs is the free publicity and free meal and chance for a few chuckles before they attend the post-dinner parties. Not a bad way to spend a few hours in D.C. if you have to spend a few hours in D.C. And all they need to know is the name of the media host who invited them.
The hosts know this too, and aren’t under the slightest impression that any celeb guest is required or expected to know all the names of all the major WH correspondents, most of them, or any of them.
Now you’ve forced me to waste precious time and computer electrons defending those poor unfairly maligned c-lebs ferchrissakes. Let’s discuss something more cheerful, like that Salon article about Nixon’s lying about the VN War and fooling McGovern, or that article about Stephen Hawking giving humanity just a thousand more years (he’s an optimist imo), or how the Obama admin appears to be inching closer to an actual hot war with the Russkies.
Btw, I thought the female comedian at the dinner was only a 7. Read too much from her script, and it seemed kind of rushed.
Don’t blame me, or anyone but yourself, for rallying in defense of the celebrity culture. I merely posted a tidbit that amusingly exhibited the shallowness of the trifecta: politics, MSM, and celebrities.
on April 27, 2015 at 5:40 pm
Sadly, yes, even an ordinary simple political blog poster like myself is forced to defend a group most are not eager to defend. That’s how far we’ve fallen in this country I guess. But if I don’t do it for them, next we know They will be coming after you and me. Probably me. And I can’t allow that.
Jay Rosen
I loved the Luther segment, but I also loved the entire performance by the president. He is enormously talented, even doing comedy.
There was a lot of truth telling by Obama last night and it was still very, very funny. Best combination of truth telling and humor since Colbert at the WH correspondence dinner.
Obama has a bright future in showbiz. I’ve watched it twice and still can’t keep a straight face.
I hope a “journalist” asks how many rehearsals that took. It was amazing, but I swore off loking at this show.
That whole bit was sheer genius. No wonder the follow-up act fell flat. How do you follow that? Laugh out loud funny stuff.
No one should ever have to follow Obama. At anything, Ever.
Maybe we screwed up in 1968 by not electing Pat Paulsen when we had the chance. A Pat Paulsen/George Carlin ticket wouldn’t just have been funnier than Nixon’s “sock it to me,” but would have been better at running the country.
A Jon Stewart/Steve Colbert ticket would be a relief from the 2016 GOP clown car and Democrats regressing back to the days when party bosses chose the nominee.
that was hilarious!
Did you count the number of times he mentioned the public option?
I did.
Zero. Same as last year.
Obama sold us out
Wait until next year, the last performance of his Presidency. If this year’s unloading is a preview, it should be a humdinger.
next year, after using the Republican majority to put through TPP, he’ll be laughing at us.
If only Obama could be as tough on the press and the Repubs the other 364 days of the year. Instead we get Mr Moderate Nice Guy offering moderate proposals and policies and plays that inch the ball down the field.
This is rich: HuffPo Celebrities Attending The White House Correspondents’ Dinner Can’t Name A Single White House Correspondent
Wonder how many could name the VP, SOS, Senate Majority Leader, Speaker of the House, and Chief Justice of the SCOTUS.
Big difference. I’d be embarrassed if I couldn’t name the people on your list, but I’d be proud to have never heard of Chuck Todd, Mike Allen and their hack colleagues.
Difference between you and the subject celebrities is that you weren’t invited and chose to attend the WHCA dinner. You may be proud not to know the names of those hacks, but good manners dictate knowing their names if you go to their freaking party.
What percentage of Americans would you guess could name those individuals that you’d be embarrassed not to know?
Not many would be my guess based on basic knowledge polls. BBC
Explains a lot.
Figures. We’ve got, what, about two people in the msm explaining science to the public. Neil deGrasse Tyson (no relation to Mike probably), and that nerdy bow-tied Science Guy. And science is given only occasional footnote-to-a-footnote coverage by the big media. CNN used to have a regular Science News segment, but it got axed years ago and the reporter, if he’s still around, is probably only a part-timer there at best.
Not sure also if they’ve improved teaching science in the public schools either. In my day, back when public schools were well-funded and respected, even then the ones teaching science weren’t exactly lighting up the room with their brilliance or enthusiasm. Yeah, I got the football coach and the droners.
Fed budgets for scientific research have also been cut lately. Nasa no longer has big budgets and big plans underway to inspire young potential scientists and explorers. And one major political party is determined to destroy scientific education.
Other than that, things look pretty good for public scientific education in this country.
That’s kind of a ridiculous comparison. I wouldn’t consider not knowing who the WH reporters are as some indication of a lack of civics IQ like not knowing the VP etc.
I’m fairly well informed, but couldn’t tell you WH correspondent names either, beyond Sam Donaldson, Dan Rather and Roger Mudd. IOW, if you don’t watch the nightly 22 minutes of headline reading, gossip and light feel-good features, you aren’t likely to know a lot of these people’s names. I stopped watching regularly 35 yrs ago, probably when I got cable and CNN.
And if you don’t regularly read the propaganda that the newspapers publish as political news — I dropped my LAT subscription 15 yrs ago and refuse to give the lying NYT a nickel — you won’t know those names either. What matters is to recognize the appalling state of the MSM, its falsity, lack of honest investigative reporting. I get my news from a variety of online and cable sources, not from the old MSM guard of hacks and propagandists, the overpaid WH correspondents.
Do you attend large, professional galas/parties and not have a clue as to who the hosts are?
In such instances, I not only needed to know the names of principles but their spouses as well.
It’s irrelevant when the whole point for celebs is the free publicity and free meal and chance for a few chuckles before they attend the post-dinner parties. Not a bad way to spend a few hours in D.C. if you have to spend a few hours in D.C. And all they need to know is the name of the media host who invited them.
The hosts know this too, and aren’t under the slightest impression that any celeb guest is required or expected to know all the names of all the major WH correspondents, most of them, or any of them.
Now you’ve forced me to waste precious time and computer electrons defending those poor unfairly maligned c-lebs ferchrissakes. Let’s discuss something more cheerful, like that Salon article about Nixon’s lying about the VN War and fooling McGovern, or that article about Stephen Hawking giving humanity just a thousand more years (he’s an optimist imo), or how the Obama admin appears to be inching closer to an actual hot war with the Russkies.
Btw, I thought the female comedian at the dinner was only a 7. Read too much from her script, and it seemed kind of rushed.
Now you’ve forced me to waste precious time …
Don’t blame me, or anyone but yourself, for rallying in defense of the celebrity culture. I merely posted a tidbit that amusingly exhibited the shallowness of the trifecta: politics, MSM, and celebrities.
Sadly, yes, even an ordinary simple political blog poster like myself is forced to defend a group most are not eager to defend. That’s how far we’ve fallen in this country I guess. But if I don’t do it for them, next we know They will be coming after you and me. Probably me. And I can’t allow that.