Something We Often Wonder….

Howard Kurtz today answers a question we often ask:

Question: I swear I’m not being snide, I’m honestly curious: What’s the point of McClellan’s White House briefings? It appears to me that the only thing porduced from them are repeats of the exact same thing someone in the administration said earlier. He does not answer questions that haven’t been addressed, and answers questions that have been addressed using almost the exact same words as Bush, or whoever, did originally.

Does any news ever come out of a White House briefing?

Howard Kurtz: Occasionally, when the administration decides it wants to make news. But even half an hour of we-can’t-comment-because-it’s-under-investigation can be revealing of an administration’s mindset. Also, the briefings are the only daily crack at a top White House official that the press corps gets. Keep in mind that for decades, until Mike McCurry, these briefings were not televised, so people didn’t see, or only read summaries of, the rhetorical combat.

So there you have it: No. The briefings are just like aspic: an elaborate and shiny gloss holding together not very much.

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