A YouTube video showing the White House press corps staying in their seats for George Bush but jumping up in respect for Barack Obama recently has gotten some attention. I’ve watched it and it shows what it shows. CBS’s Mark Knoller tries valiantly to spin it as some innocuous thing, but fails. He claims that reporters didn’t stand for Bush because they didn’t want to block the shots of the still and TV cameras in the back of the room:
When some reporters stood up for President Obama last Friday, they forgot about the needs of their colleagues in the back of the room as well as the less formal atmosphere of the briefing room. Certainly it was a sign of respect for the president, but not one of disrespect for his predecessor.
The forgot? Well, why did they forget? My guess is their man-love for Obama was just so great that their consideration for their colleagues vanished. That sounds like bias to me.
UPDATE: Here’s another lame attempt to differentiate between Bush and Obama press conferences. Note that it, too, doesn’t adequately explain why, if the tradition is to remain seated in the briefing room in deference to cameras, the press corps jumped to their feet like like contestants whose names are called on “The Price is Right” when Obama entered the room. This guy seems to think that because Obama’s visit was a surprise that this warranted the ovation. I’m not buying it.
