Bill Hemmer on CNN "struck by hostility" of reporters at WH briefing....

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN anchor Bill Hemmer just said to WH correspondent John King that he was "struck by the hostility" of reporters at the WH press briefing yesterday. King said he would describe the AWOL questioning as "contentiousness." I would describe it as the free press envisioned by our Constitution doing its job. CNN's viewer comment line is 404-827-1500. It might also be a good idea to contact the news organizations whose reporters asked tough questions yesterday. The idea that aggressive questioning of this White House by the press is "hostility," and somehow unacceptable, should't be allowed to take hold.

[Loonman]

1. Sounds like Bill Hemmer forgot what his job is

Report and stop obeying GOP shill Blitzer.

[Shopaholic]

7. Another way to complain

You can also complain about Hemmer's bias by going to the CNN website and clicking on their feedback section.

[Loonman]

10. Already did

Wrote to tell Hemmings that, that is what real reporters do; ask tough questions.

[DemLikr]

21. Hemmer's been moved to the Pretty Boy Up and Coming Anchor slot,

so now he sees the news from his pedestal, as presented by his lessers who actually have to go out and at least pretend to report. He now feels called upon, as are all superstar anchors, to weigh in with his "take," his "sense" about the distasteful goings-on he witnesses far beneath him.

[calimary]

27. Hemmer's obviously too young to remember what real reporters do

or act like, or even look like. I bet he wasn't even a glimmer in his mama's eye when Watergate was happening. Not that he'd care. He also looks like the kind of modern-day "journalist" who spent more time in the makeup room and in How-to-Read-a-TelePrompTer class as a "broadcasting" major in school, if even that much. I doubt he'd have thought to examine what a real reporter or journalist or other truth-telling information broker actually does, while on his way up.

[Robb]

2. I would've been hostile also

...briefing was late, then Scott handed out documents that couldn't be read, then started with the obfuscating.

Poor PR style, objectively. :shrug:

[ewagner]

3. Saw that too

Hemmer was shocked because he saw real journalists in action. It was new to him. He's just a pretty faced, teleprompter reader who has never seen real journalist in action.

To Hemmer: Get used to it!

[dennis4868]

4. Awwwwww.....

The WH was forced to answer tough questions for once...isn't that a shame for a WH that is runned by such a god fearing man....I would say that the tone of the press conference was an average day in the Clinton WH for 8 years....

[RapidCreek]

5. Sounds like Hemmer would be better suited to a job on the Do It Yorself

channel....you know hosting a show on potted plants or something. Yea right...it's real hostile to ask some son of a bitch who couldn't even show up for stateside duty but has no problem sending kids to Iraq to die...why.

RC

[farmbo]

6. Bad Press! Bad Press!

We fed you all the information on AWOL you deserved (9 day's worth of pay stubs), yet you STILL insist on asking embarrassing questions.

Back to obedience school for the lot of you!

[GOPisEvil]

8. Hey Hemmer, you dope, that was the media doing its job.

Since you, apparently, are used to getting your news items straight from the RNC, maybe you've forgotten that. It's called following a lead, something you should try sometime.

[jean]

9. c-span's WH briefing tape - "dishonorably" & "Some"

"That is the reason why he was dishonorably discharged..."

McClellan said "dis" softly and no doubt accidentally, very early in the briefing.

McClellan uses Reagan-speak by referring to Bush adversaries as some, using the word as a noun - "there are some who..." - and always to label opponents.

This always bugs me - it's a way of verbally segregating yourself from and elevating yourself over the rest of the rabble.

CNN's Hemmer is just doing the old framing exercise - "hostile, contentious, angry" - he should intersperse his babble with clips from any Fox show, in order to get a true taste of hostile.

[gulfcoastliberal]

12. I Heard that, Too!

I watched the whole thing on the video feed from the whitehouse.gov website. I'm going to go listen to it again now.

[Kahuna]

23. I heard the "dis" part too. I recorded the replay of the

briefing late last night. It's a keeper!

[NNN0LHI]

11. That is because Hemmer ain't got the guts to do it himself n/t

[nannygoat]

13. Where was he in 1999 and 2000 when the whoremedia

were hostile to Al Gore 24/7? Spare me...

[Kahuna]

24. He was in the seventh grade in 99/00.

He looks like a twelve year old.

[saltpoint]

14. Posters here have got it exactly right.

Hemmer needs to come to grips with the nature of a free press. His Church Lady indignation at the "hostile" press corps doesn't wash.

He's very pretty, though. If CNN ever cans him, he has a future in gay porn.

[calimary]

28. OOOh, maybe bush can tell him he's got a pretty face,

just like he did to the "Other Scott" recently. Hemmer, too, is prettier than the Scott bush has on the payroll.

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

15. Boo hoo hooo, guess it's only important to ask questions about

blow jobs and Love Story! It's not like lives are involved here or anything!

Bush LIES about going to Iraq, pretends to be a military hero and poses with military people while he sends them to die and get their limbs blown off, then he can't explain the reasons for the war -- nothing important!

[Cooley Hurd]

16. CNN correspondents noticably absent during that round...

...of questions (re: AWOL). Hemmer and Kyra Phillips both referred to the AWOL controversy as "attacks against the President," not as a questioning of the Chimp's credibility.

Guys, your bias is showing - *blush*

[Champion Jack]

17. As Jon Stewart said last night about the WH press corp....

"What the FUCK took you so long?"

[Loonman]

18. I remember when CNN was a respected name in news

Now it's Fox News Lite.

[truthspeaker]

19. Finding answers to tough questions is the president's JOB

Aw, look at poor Scottie being picked on by the mean reporters.

Let me see if I have this straight:

Reporters doing their job: hostile

American citizens criticizing the president: unpatriotic

But they're not Nazis. So stop saying that!

[Shopaholic]

20. What we need to do--

Let the media outlets know how much we appreciate their tough questioning of the selected "president" and his poor little press secretary--use their websites and hit the feedback/comment sections and hit them hard. If the Repugs can turn the pressure on the media, so can we. And I've got a feeling after four years of being on short leashes, the press dogs are ready to be let out of the kennel!

[Kahuna]

22. Hemmerer is an annoying punk and a jerk.

He is even more embarrassing than Wolf and Zahn. That's pretty bad.

[wadestock]

25. Bill Hemmeroid is a Reaganite

He obviously listens to Limbaugh....
he has been totally into the war, etc.....

He usually maintains his pretty boy cool....but the reason I now know he is a real Reaganite is because he got his feathers up quite quickly in a discussion last week or so....when he belted out (in response to the democrats pushing for removal of Bush tax cuts)...

SOUNDS LIKE CLASS WARFARE!

Hello, welcome another Limbaugh sucking Reaganite into the liberal dominated news media....

[ignatius]

26. I think they have been mentally abused by this administration

for so long that this is the "blowback" they deserve.

Either that or their corporate masters have had enough as well.

[Logansquare]

29. Wasn't one of the reporters David Gregory

who previously was snapped at by * for having the audacity to speak French to Chirac during a dual press conference in Europe?

[DeepModem Mom]

30. "Stretch" Gregory was "on fire" yesterday.... nt

[nostamj]

32. here's hostility....

Q That wasn't my question, Scott.

MR. McCLELLAN: These payroll records --

Q Scott, that wasn't my question, and you know it wasn't my question. Where was he in December of '72, February and March of '73? And why did he not fulfill the medical requirements to remain on active flight duty status?

MR. McCLELLAN: These records -- these records I'm holding here clearly document the President fulfilling his duties in the National Guard. The President was proud of his service. The President --

Q I asked a simple question; how about a simple answer?

MR. McCLELLAN: John, if you'll let me address the question, I'm coming to your answer, and I'd like --

Q Well, if you would address it -- maybe you could.

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry, John. But this is an important issue that some chose to raise in the context of an election year, and the facts are important for people to know. And if you don't want to know the facts, that's fine. But I want to share the facts with you.

Q I do want to know the facts, which is why I keep asking the question. And I'll ask it one more time. Where was he in December of '72, February and March of '73? Why didn't he fulfill the medical requirements to remain on active flight duty status in 1972?

MR. McCLELLAN: The President recalls serving both when he was in Texas and when he was in Alabama. And that is what I can tell you.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/02/20040210-3.html

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[ComerPerro]

33. They are just pissed

because the press is finally questioning them like they should, and not just gladly eating up the lies and saying "thank you sir, may i have another?"

Poor Bush. His administration got called out for their lies.

The press are such bullies...