Last week, Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central’s Colbert Report hosted the White House Correspondent’s Dinner. Apparantly there is also a bit of an uproar from some that he may have crossed the line on a few of his jokes… and I don’t get it. I don’t understand how you can expect a comedian to poke fun at someone, but not too much fun. Oh well, not the point of my post here. The point is my favorite part of the speech:

“But, listen, let’s review the rules. Here’s how it works: the president makes decisions. He’s the Decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put ‘em through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know - fiction!”

I thought it was interesting because I really think that for at least the last two presidencies, the press has made a nasty habit of not asking the tough questions. Most of it comes down to the fact that those who do, tend not to be granted future interviews. The result? Most interviews with politicians seem are like MLB players at a slow-pitch softball game. No surprises and every attempt is made to help them look better in the end.

The major concern there is that most Americans get their info from these sources, so there is no real possiblity for reform. In an interview with Larry King, Woodward and Bernstein stated that they do not believe that the press has the ability to aid in reform, (as they did with the Watergate scandal) and that the press is more of an extension of political propagana rather than a critical evaluation of current policies. Moral of the story: politicians have the best job security in the world.