President Obama answers blogger's question as Whining Journos cry about Nico's question
By scarce Tuesday Jun 23, 2009 6:00pm
Nico Pitney of The Huffington Post asks "Under which conditions would you accept the election of Ahmadinejad, and if you do accept it without any significant changes in the conditions there, isn't that a betrayal of what the demonstrators there are working towards?"
Obama's response:
Well look, we didn't have international observers on the ground, we can't say definitively what exactly happened at polling places throughout the country. What we know is that a sizeable percentage of the Iranian people themselves, spanning Iranian society, considered this election illegitimate. It's not an isolated instance, a little grumbling here or there. There [are] significant questions about the legitimacy of the election. And so ultimately, the most important thing for the Iranian government to consider is legitimacy in the eyes of its own people, not in the eyes of the United States. And that's why I've been very clear, ultimately this is up to the Iranian people to decide who their leadership is going to be and the structure of their government. What we can do is to say unequivocally that there are sets of international norms and principles about violence, about dealing with peaceful dissent, that spans cultures, spans borders, and what we've been seeing over the Internet and what we've been seeing in news reports, violates those norms and violates those principles. I think it is not too late for the Iranian government to recognize that there is a peaceful path that will lead to stability and legitimacy and prosperity for the Iranian people. We hope they take it.
UPDATE: John Amato sez:
Awww, the Politico and the Villagers are upset at the White House because Nico was singled out and asked a question about a subject that they all missed: Iran. Not that they didn't know the story, but that they didn't know how to cover it, since Iran was blocking as much info as it could get away with. I think it's exciting that the Obama Administration knew what Nico was doing -- and by the way, major props go to Nico for doing an incredible job, because he knew what to do before the Villagers did.
Iran Updates (VIDEO): Live-Blogging The Uprising
The traditional media never wants to recognize excellent work except when it comes from their own. How many times have we heard Chris Matthews call Chuck Todd a genius? Why is Chuck Todd a miracle worker? Before he was the anointed one, he was crunching election numbers for the presidential primary. Anyway, Michael Calderone wasn't too happy that Nico got called on by the White House. And by the way, Nicco's question was one of the toughest to answer, but the substance of what happened didn't matter to them. To Villagers everywhere, Nico cut in line.
Here's what Greg Sargent wrote:
Some reporters and right wing bloggers are accusing the White House of “coordinating” a question with The Huffington Post at today’s press conference, suggesting this shows the White House cozying up to a lefty news outlet.
Actually, the White House didn’t have to coordinate with HuffPo to know what Nico Pitney was going to ask, since he wrote this the day before the presser:
Tomorrow, President Obama is holding a news conference at the White House and I’ll be attending. If I get called, I want to ask a question that comes directly from an Iranian.
Emptywheel writes: Politico: “Oh Noes! The Best Reporter on a Subject Got Called on!!!”
When I heard, before the presser, that Nico was hoping to pose a question from an Iranian, I knew some beltway idiot would bitch if the HuffPo got a question. I just thought the bitching would come from someone with a more consistent record of being a complete idiot than Calderone...read on.
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Thank God it's not John McCain up there taking questions.
HuffPo never would have been credentialed.
But Jeff Gannon would still be on the list.
"Under which conditions would you accept the election of Ahmadinejad, "
The answer to that question should have been under what conditions should we have accepted George Bush as president.
Ahmedinejad and George Bush. Unelected election fraudulent despots of a feather.
Mr. President, which more closely describes your administration...
1. An illegal Islamic Socialist dictatorship, or
2. A watermelon
make a game of guessing what Fox or the right wing blogs would ask the President. My entry for Red State: Mr President when are you going to resign on account of being Kenyan and ans not a real American?
These Beltway boneheads act like they are some elite and exclusionary club that owns all the world's knowledge. When someone like Nico dares to speak---silence, whippersnapper! We didn't give you permission!
These incestuous and insular fools need to take it down a notch and get connected with the real world, who has a whole lot less respect for them than their arrogant, backslapping comrades do.
I have yet to hear any comment on the infuriatingly arrogant and exceedingly simple-minded ass-hats known as Major Garrett, Chuck Todd and Chip Reid.Their willingness to carry the "Obama is a wimp" meme was nothing short of an embarassing new low for the lame stream media. I know Obama is a better man than I , but it would be a very cold day in hell before I would call on that trio of douchebags again.
Those three journalistic stooges are a disgrace to their profession. They are little more than GOP political operatives pretending like they are objective. Chuck Todd in particular reinforces the idea that short people are dangerous. Even more dangerous though, is their blatant confrontational and partisan slant, Americans need a media willing to tell factual information, not political hacks with an attitude problem. These goons take every oppportunity to defame Obama and distort and dilute his accomplishments.
I can just hear them. How the hell did this green behind the ears punk get Q+A time?
These beltway insiders need to get used to New Media, the old days of smug corporate media cocktail society are dying.
LOL . . .unfortunately
I have faith in blogger's decentralized, non-corporate, and non traditional methods. Not to mention the nerd factor and cocktail parties don't mix. It's quite a big change, I'm glad it's happening
Rachel Maddow had Nico Pitney on her show .. and creditted him with providing the best available coverage of events in Iran ..
if you know where to look.
It's not Celebrity Journalism though.
care to share?
Your on your own.
I figured you were just bluffing ..
$2 if paid within 24 hours.
Nico deserved to ask his question. He deserved the recognition. He's worked for it.
Major Garrett, on the other hand, is a tool for Fox, and shouldn't be allowed to ask any more questions.
My $0.02
but I heard/read about the Neda story on C&L a couple of days ago, and only saw it on teh TV (Today Show) this morning. Also read about the missing family values SC Governor on this site a day or two ago, and then saw a piece on the Today Show about him this morning (he went camping - there's nothing to see here, move along). I guess the point is, it seems, with greater frequency, that I'm learning about current events on the internets a day or two earlier than seeing the reports on TV. And I need to stop watching teh Today Show.
1) Village reporter makes asinine remarks.
2) Wingnut blogger (usually Malkin) seizes on asinine remarks and turns them into evidence of conspiracy.
3) Wingnutosphere links to Malkin 10,000 times in 2 hours.
4) Wingnuts "informed" of conspiracy within 12 hours.
5) Faux Noise and Morning Joke repeat as talking points for next 24 hours. Malkin appears on Glen Beck.
6) Village reporters treat "controversy" as a story in and of itself.
7) Village pundits discuss on Sunday talk shows.
Hands down, Nico has had the best reporting of this story, with Andrew Sullivan in a close second. He has had a continuous feed on HuffPo since the election, constantly updated. Content he included would almost everytime trump MSM's reporting.
It's ironic that the "reporter" who complained didn't take the time to actually visit his link and see that A.) Obama never asked him what the question would be, and B.)Nico was running late and that was why he had an such an uncommon entrance (again, not planned). The Obama admin recognized this man's talent and gave him unhindered access to ask what he would. Props to Obama. Calderone just needs to grow up.
The dead tree society has suddenly become back seat drivers. If they can’t handle the competition then they should STFU or take a hike (on the Appalachian Trail with numbnuts).
What betrayal can this guy be talking about? Who betrayed who?
do the asshats known as the Beltway punditocracy has a monopoly on asking questions to the President?
Such arrogance! Obama should start checking in for Democracy Now!, just to further piss off these idiots.
if calderone had put a fraction of the time and effort into reporting the iran story as nico pitney has over the life of the crisis, he too, might have been deserving of a question. nico, having established his credentials as a serious journalist on the subject earned the slot, by dint of actual work submitted, rather than calderone who it seems feels deserving by merely being a legend within his own mind.
Oh lookee, a blogger got called on by the President. This must be the clarion call of a new age dawning in blogger cred!
Get over yourselves people. And listen to someone Iranian with a keener perspective than many of us, perhaps even Nico himself (blasphemy, I know) but Hooman Majd called it "silly" and compared it with someone in France asking in 2000 what they would do if Bush was appointed President.
I am sure that the question of what the France would do in the event of Bush being appointed president in 2000, while for the most part irrelevant for Americans might be extremely relevant for the people of France and as such a perfectly legitimate question for a French reporter to ask of the French president. By the same token, the question asked by Nico is extremely relevant for Americans and for Iranians, given the tension between the two countries and that elements in the United States have been trying to engage the US in a shooting war with Iran. Hooman Majd, may be Iranian but his is one voice not representative of all Iranians and one discredited by his labeling the question as silly because the answer wasn't to his liking.
Well, the U.S. doesn't recognize Iran and has no diplomatic relations with the country, so Obama doesn't have to "accept" anything. He's right, tho, that the people need to decide, and then the U.S. can proceed from there...
Now let's not be too harsh on the right-wingers here. Imagine how tough it must be to watch a president get asked a difficult current-events question and not only give a considered, thought-out, reasonable answer, but state it in a clear and coherent way. I mean, picture Bush answering the same question. In fact, picture Bush trying to give the SAME answer to the same question. Even if he were trying to make the exact same point there's a 90% chance he'd come across as a fumbling doofus at best, and a fumbling, arrogant, clueless doofus at worst.
As for the media types, you've also got to feel their pain. I mean, sitting there while somebody asks a concise, current, meaningful, AND difficult question? That's gotta hurt.
Not to sound like a concern troll but...ok, I'll be a concern troll. How is it ok that a blogger from the HP gets recognition from the White House and we all cheer (and, indeed, it was a great question) but when Griff Jenkins complains about a blogger being invited to an ACORN meeting but he wasn't and was told that meeting was not open to the press we declare that the blogger isn't really "the press"? At what point does a blogger become part of "the press"? When s/he is part of a major internet newspaper like HP or C&L? Or do you even have to be affiliated with anyone? The lines are being blurred in cyberspace.
on the Today Show this morning. Chuck Todd "reporting" from outside the Whitehouse cried first, then Matt & Chris cried together about it before telling us that Obama is bowing to republican pressure (from John McCain!) to take a tougher stance on Iran, and how bad his health insurance plan will be for America. Evidently, Matthews' latest book is now available in paperback, which qualifies him as a "guest" on the Today Show.
The argument about whether bloggers are from the press is beside the point. ACORN can invite whoever it wants to its meetings and if it chooses to invite some members of the press and not others then it is not incorrect to say it is not open to the press. Besides, the reporter in question had sacrificed any journalistic credibility by setting up a publicity stunt. His intent wasn't to report the story but to be the story.
This is just silly. What did Pitney do that every other reporter called on didn't do? Except do it better?
... but not surprising that on both O'Reilly and Hannity Major Garrett was named as the one with the good question even though Obama slapped him down as having been inaccurate ["What took you so long].
But I believe that the President can't overtly back the opposition since his long term wish is to have some kind of dialog with Iran, and that by necessity has to be with whomever survives.
But then again, repugs know-not-much on diplomacy. You do not burn bridges.
BOO Fricken WHOO! The main stream media is becoming more and more irrelevant. Guess what, It's because they don't do their job. Investigative reporting, or for that matter real reporting does not exist in the main stream media. They are a constant flow of talking points that everyone knows is coming from the right wing media machine.
Ratings, what a frickin joke. They are as rigged as the election in Iran, or for that matter here in 2000 or 2004. Only 25% of Americans watch FOX news, yet they get the majority of the ratings. Give me a fuckin break. Billo is a serious journalist, he's a political piece of crap.
In my eye, the President did call on a true journalist. Now if we can just get Congress to figure this out, and quit listening to the lobbyists.
Anybody else notice how Chuck Todd got a little irritated Obama put-down by asking a question repeatedly and not listening to the answer? Can't remember exactly what it was, but I did get a warm fuzzy watching the smart-ass "anointed one" Todd squirm just a little.....
Good question, good answer. We need more of that. Too bad it is the newspapers going bankrupt instead of the talking head media.
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