‘Blood in the Water’
Today was another small moment for history too: The fourth row of the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in the White House today held both Fishbowl and Eric Brewer of BTC News, making this the first day that both of the independent bloggers credentialed to the White House have been present at a briefing at the same time. Our report follows and we’ll link to his when he posts:
The briefing room filled up relatively early today for this daily press briefing after yesterday’s grilling. Hardly a seat was available, and many late-arriving correspondents ended up standing in the aisles. “We’re here for the barbeque,” one reporter said.
“There’s definitely blood in the water today,” said another. “Blood in the water” must have been the official press corps view, as no less than three different reporters privately commented as such leading up to the briefing. One added, “The sharks are circling.”
Scott McClellan, wearing his normal dark suit, blue shirt, and red tie, walked in soon after the two-minute warning at 12:54 p.m., and promptly launched into introductory remarks about the Supreme Court vacancy and the economy. Hardly a pen moved in the audience. No one was here for that.
The first question was on the President’s SCOTUS breakfast this morning with a bipartisan group of senators. A few pens wagged, but the anticipation for the next question was thick.
McClellan could feel it too and was more obviously nervous than we’ve ever seen him at the podium. While the cliché of a deer-in-headlights might be a bit unfair, he was certain that danger loomed just ahead. From where and of what kind he didn’t really know, but it was certainly coming.
More after the jump…
> The official transcript has now been posted.
The first volley (and many subsequent ones) came from CBS’s John Roberts, who asked whether the President should revoke Karl Rove’s security clearance. As soon as the question started and McClellan started to answer, an explosion of camera shutters began. They wanted to capture every split-second of the roasting that was about to follow. Every gesture and pointed look earned another round of furious photography.
Unsatisfied with the answer, Roberts asked the first of many follow-ups. McClellan finally offered, “Any individual who works here at the White House has the President’s confidence.”
NBC’s David Gregory, who yesterday called McClellan’s evasions “ridiculous,” took up the cause next. When McClellan said that he was sure the American people would understand why he couldn’t answer questions about an ongoing investigation, Gregory shot back: “We’ll see.”
ABC’s Terry Moran was next with a question about Republican talking points circulating about the matter and whether the White House had a behind-the-scenes effort to work the story. McClellan tried to answer, his voice momentarily cracking, before he launched into what was becoming the standard: can’t discuss things related to the context of the ongoing investigation. It continued for round after round: Ongoing investigation. Ongoing investigation. Can’t discuss. Ongoing investigation.
CNN’s Bob Franken and press corps doyenne Helen Thomas took a swing at bat, and Roberts jumped in again. As the questioning momentarily moved on down one of several digressions into North Korea and Kashmir, Gregory, Roberts, and the AP’s Terry Hunt–all sitting together in the front row–exchanged a glance pregnant with meaning and frustration: “This isn’t going anywhere.”
A double barrel of non sequitors from Les Kinsolving killed some of the momentum, perhaps as McClellan had hoped. The Post’s Jim VanDeHei tried a slightly different route, asking more broadly about credibility, to no avail, and several subsequent follow-ups from other reporters led no where.
Today’s battle was over. Thirty minutes had passed. Both sides were bloodied and exhausted. No ground had been won by the press. None had been lost by the White House, but none had been gained either in trying to get this story to go away.
What’s sure is that this story, now that it has finally arrived, isn’t going to go away. As one reporter said in the briefing, the much-cited ongoing investigation means that this will be an ongoing news story today too.
“You don’t want to be in trouble in the summertime,” one veteran White House correspondent said. “There’s something about a scandal in the summer that people don’t generally survive.”
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