Ed Henry has shown himself to be about the wimpiest of CNN's cabal of half-ass reporters, or all of mainstream media for that matter. Last night he was even worse than the eternally supine David Gregory. Obama's response about why he didn't bark out immediately about the AIG bonuses was perfect. Is a President supposed to give knee-jerk reactions? No, so quit whining for immediate gratification, Jackass.
It was a kick to see Ed "Can I Pick On Your Daughters?" Henry get his lunch. I'm sure he was convinced in his own mind that he was really sending a "zinger" to Obama, what with his tenaciously repeating it. It would have been magnificent if Obama had turned Chuck Todd's inane question about self-sacrifice back on him, asking how much of his grotesquely overpaid salary he was using for philanthropic pursuits. The self-indulgent & self-cosseted monomania of these minions is insufferable.
I think there's at least one pretty simple reason why the Washington-based press corps is so out of touch. At one time, the press were just working stiffs like the rest of us and could easily relate to what everyday people were thinking and experiencing. Now, they're all six figure prima donnas who do little real research and - apparently from their performance over the last eight years - even less thinking at any depth. They're mostly just going through the motions and behave like a pack that lives and breathes Washington right down to those cushy dinners and parties.
The repetitious nature of the questions last night and the self-reverential "gotcha" form of many of them show that they do very little listening. It's your one chance in a month to ask the POTUS a question and this is the best that you can come up with? And then once answered, you go with a variation on the same question you just heard? Pitiful!
The last eight years the press became so used to the fact that no matter how dim their questions were, the President Bush they were questioning would always seem even more dimwitted, making them seem articulate by contrast. Now, with someone who can give thoughtful, articulate answers, they suddenly seem like vapid clowns. That's only because they were, however.
I think Obama was extremely patient, given that I would have answered "Well Chuck, I did ask Americans to sacrifice, right here, ten minutes ago when I asked them to be patient because things will recover but not right away, something you would have heard if you hadn't been busy thinking of the "zinger" you were going to ask to me to get attention. You feckless moron."