From the CBS White House reporter:
There was some rich irony at the White House today -- President Obama signed the Press Freedom Act, and then promptly refused to take any questions.
That's irony, layer No. 1: Obama refused to take questions from the press at a Free Freedom ceremony. Noted, and of course there's nothing wrong with Reid making that point. White House reporters have become increasingly vocal about their frustration in how little Obama interacts with them, and specifically the paucity of formal press conferences. So yes, Monday's Freedom Act irony was widely noted and reported.
But here's irony layer No. 2: CBS's Chip Reid is part of the same Beltway press corps that continues to shower unprecedented attention on Sarah Palin who, to the best of my knowledge, has not sat down and taken direct questions from a professional, independent journalist in nearly 18 months.
Palin categorically refuses to answer questions from the “lamestream media,” but do you hear Chip Reid or any of his colleague complain? Do journalists, who literally trample themselves to type of Palin's latest Facebook musing (here's an exception.) , ever even acknowledge the fact that Palin is being rewarded with priceless free media despite the fact she positively will not answer any questions from the working press?
Isn't it ironic, dontcha think?