A Few Good Answers
I have question: what is the purpose of the White House Press Secretary?
Are they suppose to answer the media's questions in the name of the President? Are they to clarify the President's views and positions on various issues? What about the views of other White House staff, like the Vice President or the Cabinet? Is it O.K. to explain things, to elaborate, or should you just say, "Well, So-and-So already made a remark on that. Refer to them?"
After a press briefing, aren't you supposed to come out feeling somewhat satisfied and/or informed?
In trying to discover if Vice President Dick Cheney was still backing his statement about how we're kicking butt in Iraq, the Editor&Publisher had a very interesting exchange with Press Secretary Scott McClellan, where McClellan gave his best Rasheed Wallace "both teams played hard" impression.
Also in the same briefing, McClellan dismissed questions about the Downing Street Memo as an attack by "an individual who voted against the war in the first place and is simply trying to rehash old debates that have already been addressed." This individual also goes by the name of John Conyers, Jr.
Going by these recent events, as well as the entire briefing, the Press Secretary is supposed to only answer the questions they want to. And, if someone asks something unfavorable to the President's agenda (no matter who the President is), the PS can dodge it or refer the reporter to some statement made long ago.
Can someone please let me know when they start answering the questions people ask?
Are they suppose to answer the media's questions in the name of the President? Are they to clarify the President's views and positions on various issues? What about the views of other White House staff, like the Vice President or the Cabinet? Is it O.K. to explain things, to elaborate, or should you just say, "Well, So-and-So already made a remark on that. Refer to them?"
After a press briefing, aren't you supposed to come out feeling somewhat satisfied and/or informed?
In trying to discover if Vice President Dick Cheney was still backing his statement about how we're kicking butt in Iraq, the Editor&Publisher had a very interesting exchange with Press Secretary Scott McClellan, where McClellan gave his best Rasheed Wallace "both teams played hard" impression.
Also in the same briefing, McClellan dismissed questions about the Downing Street Memo as an attack by "an individual who voted against the war in the first place and is simply trying to rehash old debates that have already been addressed." This individual also goes by the name of John Conyers, Jr.
Going by these recent events, as well as the entire briefing, the Press Secretary is supposed to only answer the questions they want to. And, if someone asks something unfavorable to the President's agenda (no matter who the President is), the PS can dodge it or refer the reporter to some statement made long ago.
Can someone please let me know when they start answering the questions people ask?
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