“Tapper Did What Few White House Reporters Do”

ABC’s Jake Tapper is being called a “mensch” — a Yiddish term loosely meaning a “good guy” — by Mother Jones‘s David Corn after yesterday’s Presidential press conference.

Corn lauds Tapper for following up on what Tapper felt was a colleague’s unanswered question. “Before I ask my question,” Tapper said after President Obama called upon him at the presser, “I’m wondering if you could actually answer David’s. Is the public plan non-negotiable?” He was referring to a healthcare question from USA Today‘s David Jackson.

“That’s your question,” the President replied. “Are you the ombudsman for the White House press corps?” he asked, to laughter.

Tapper repeated Jackson’s question, and the President responded.

Corn writes, “Tapper did what few White House reporters do…[he] held [the President] accountable.

“Too often in the White House press room, reporters work separately, rather than jointly…In this instance, Obama had evaded an important query from Jackson. But when Tapper confronted Obama on this point, the president had a tough time dodging further. (In a similar situation, Bush probably would have continued ducking.) So credit to Tapper for being a team player — and, I suppose, to Obama for being honest about his commitment to a public option.”

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