In his weekly on-line chat, Howie Kurtz fields a tough one:
Washington, D.C.: Am I the only one disturbed that the press corps laughs with President Bush? It's not just that what Bush says and laughs at is not funny, it is that the press seems to be abdicating its duty and sycophantic laughter is just one example of how the press has abandonded its responsibility.Okay, not so tough: Yes, you are the only one. We're pretty sure "sycophantic laughter" signifies abdication of duty only if you think the press corp's real job is judging "The Last President Standing." Personally, we have no problem with reporters pretending to laugh at Bush's lame jokes, it's when they report them as truth -- "WMDs in Iraq!" "Hedge fund managers are the Social Security reformers of first resort!" -- that we start to get worried.
Media Backtalk [washingtonpost.com]
