For the love of all that is holy, is there no safety for the White House Press corps?
Reporters ventured out to cover the speech amid a massive snowstorm in Washington that could dump up to three feet of snow on the region.
According to the White House pool report, as the motorcade drove back to the White House after the president’s speech, a medium-size tree branch snapped under the weight of the snow and fell on top of an SUV carrying photographers.
The windshield of the vehicle was reportedly covered in snow and the driver brought it to a stop. The limb was dragged off the roof and the vehicle returned safely to the White House.
The post is – I am not making this up – “Snowstorm puts W.H. press corps in danger”. Let’s see, government SUV piloted by professional driver in an official motorcade. Doubtless traveling at a safe speed given the conditions.
Oh. My. See how these professionals risk their very lives to bring you all the talking points that the White House sees fit to regurgitate for them? My heavens! One of them must have spilled their free mocha lattes!
Out here in flyover country, I drove 50 miles one way to work yesterday – drove myself, mind you – through several inches of newly fallen wet snow over ice. I didn’t file a pool report, however. I did do my bit to keep the lights on.Today, I shoveled wet, sloppy ice and snow from my walkway and driveway.
Nobody will ever file a pool report about the average person who simply copes with the world as it really is from day-to-day. We get to work even when the roads are badly plowed and full of a gazillion potholes – some large enough to swallow a Buick. We don’t travel in motorcades, we drive ourselves. We shovel our driveways and sidewalks, nurse our tired backs and get up the next day and do it again.
Do go read the entire post over at The Hill. Feel free to add to the already contemptuous comments about the heroic press corps.
Exit question: Should we all adopt The Wizard’s phrasing and begin to call them the White House Press Corpse? That actually seems rather apt.
UPDATE: Good. Lord. CNN is also hyping the dire danger the press corpse was in as they bravely flew through the snow. At the blistering pace of 15mph. At least CNN appears to be a little less breathless than The Hill about it, but seriously, this is news you can use?
One wonders how many of the brave press corpse had to change their underwear after their brush with death.
Press Corpse!! How grand and perfect. Best line of the week.
“Press Corpse” is gorgeous on about six levels.
Every blogger should use it. It tags the press for the dinosaurs they are, while simultaneously keeping alive indefinitely that staggeringly obtuse “corpse-man” (times three) line.
I’m sure if Bush had said coprse-man, it would have been just shrugged off as irrelevant. Yep, uh-huh.
I wonder how many of the Press Corpse in the SUV got out and helped to clear the windshield and drag the branch off the roof. Or do the new government union rules require they wait until five men and a woman supervisor from the Federal Department of Branch Dragging show up along with four men and two woman supervisors, all of the proper ethnic mix from the Federal Department of windshield clearing arrive.
Just think of all the jobs created or saved!
Did any photogragh the branch? Where is the branch now? Return to the WH? They should have proceeded on to see if the branches falling was a pattern! Do they care if the branch was injured? Was high priced coffee spilled during all this?
Some jounalists!