Connie Lawn: Inside the East Room

It may seem like excitement and glamour, to attend a formal White House News Conference in the East Room at Prime Time. I assure you, it is not. On the other hand, I would shrivel up and fade away if I were denied credentials to attend. So, we suck up the discomfort, to know we are playing a small part in history.

Wednesday night, Washington time, was the fourth formal news conference of the 6 month old Obama Presidency. He also held one more this year in the over crowded press room, and several news conferences while traveling overseas. In fact, he held one in the sweltering Rose Garden earlier in the day, with visiting Prime Minister al Maliki of Iraq. But, the press corps only seems to count the formal ones as the real thing, which I believe is unfair.

President Obama is staging a full court press to pass his health care reform proposals. He gave major addresses on the topic 11 days in a row, counting the news conference. He also gave a series of interviews on health care reform to select members of the media.

Up close in person, and on the electronic media, he is smooth, suave, handsome, and professional. But, he is making the same arguments, and receiving the same questions, again and again. Many of us tune out; I suspect members of the public and the Congress do the same. But, there is general agreement, the inadequate system of health care in this nation is badly in need of reform. Presidents have tried and failed to improve it since President Franklin Roosevelt. Maybe this President will have better luck, but probably not by August, as he had hoped.

Attending a formal news conference entails a lot of hard work. But, it is better than the days of President Bush, when the press was given 45 minutes notice, and we had to nearly kill ourselves to get there in rush hour traffic. In this Administration, we are usually given a civilized 3 days notice. This gives the Administration enough time to clear a one hour slot on national television and radio. It also gives us a chance to apply for special press conference credentials. Usually, all of us with permanent White House credentials (called a hard pass) are admitted. But there is no assurance it will happen. In fact, there is no assurance the pass will be renewed each year.

When our acceptance is approved, and we are notified by email, we have to get to the White House about 3 hours early, to receive our special ticket and seat number. Of course, many of the reporters, staff members, and technicians have been there before dawn, and will be working until midnight. It makes for a long day.

In the afternoon, our brand new press room starts to look and smell like a slum. There is wasted food residue all over. The 4 toilets often back up, due to the load. I have not yet seen rats and roaches, as we had in the old press room. But, they may be lingering in the background.

After filing time for many hours, working, eating, and talking with friends, we are escorted into the ornate East Room. Jackets and shoes are put on, hair is brushed, and make up applied. Five minutes before the news conference, five of the main t.v anchors do their “live shots.” It is always fun for us to watch them, and wonder how they can think and out-shout each other, as they stand next to each other in front of the podium.

At precisely 8 pm Eastern, the President is announced. We stand up briefly. Then he reads his long opening statement from the teleprompter, and questions finally begin. But, he works from a pre-arranged list (as did President Bush) and usually calls on the biggest, richest media representatives. Sometimes he calls on someone who is not there. There was some anger Wednesday night, when one reporter was called, and another stood in his place. When we pointed out the situation, the President looked at that reporter and said, “that is not fair – shame on you.”

Finally, the last question went to a hometown reporter, who asked about the arrest of a prominent Black professor at Harvard. President Obama bristled, and said the police had done a stupid thing. He said this illustrates the way Black and Hispanic men are often harassed by police. The President also said, if he tried to break into the White House, he would get shot. This morbid exchange dominated the news conference, and overshadowed all the long, tedious talk of health care reform!

Connie Lawn, at the White House

Connie Lawn has a passionate love for NZ. She worked for Radio New Zealand for 20 years, and then for Radio Live for a few years. Connie has covered the White House and the world since 1968. Her other passion is skiing, and she calls herself "the skiing White House reporter." Her ski stories are on dcski.com and other outlets. Connie is also heard on thousands of radio stations, but firmly believes the internet is the future. She can be reached at connie@scoop.co.nz

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