George W. Bush still hasn't made time to talk with Cindy Sheehan in Crawford, but he somehow found time in his schedule to invite the White House press corps over for fried catfish and Shiner Bock last night. If you haven't heard about the shindig yet, there's a reason for that: Reporters were invited to hang poolside with the president on one condition -- that they not report on any conversations that happened there.
The Associated Press has the report, but the Washington Post's Dan Froomkin has the story. Froomkin says about 50 member of the White House press corps, unable to resist "an offer of face time with the president, pretty much no matter what the conditions," turned out for the event.
"I'm told that several reporters expressed squeamishness about last night's event, particularly as the press-pool vans drove by antiwar protester Cindy Sheehan's 'Camp Casey' site," Froomkin says. "And later, a small handful watched askance as the rest fawned over Bush, following him around in packs every time he moved."
Froomkin says the topics of conversation included "the antiwar protests, the twins, sports, and Bush's summer reading list." We don't know whether the first two were related -- they should have been -- and, so long as the White House press corps plays along with the president, it looks like we never will.
Shares