WHITE HOUSE SHUTS OUT BOSTON HERALD OVER ROMNEY OP-ED

The Constitution Club
The Obama White House refused to give the Boston Herald full access to the president’s Boston fund-raiser today, because it objects to the newspaper’s “unfair” front page placement of a Mitt Romney op-ed.

“I tend to consider the degree to which papers have demonstrated to covering the White House regularly and fairly in determining local pool reporters,” White House spokesman Matt Lehrich said.

Imagine for a moment, that George Bush had excluded a reporter from the New York Times access to a presidential event based on the “unfair” placement of an editorial written by Rush Limbaugh. What would have been the reaction from the left?

Is the Herald’s banishment a punishment ; a time-out for bad behavior? Punishment by the Obama White House isn’t new - remember the reporter at a fund-raiser headlined by Joe Biden who was held in a utility closet for more than an hour to keep him away from the donors?

Perhaps it’s out of fear of tough questions. It’s common knowledge in the press corps that this president has an aversion to tough questions. Remember Obama’s reaction when a reporter in Texas had the audacity to ask him real, big-boy interview questions?

Whatever the reason, using the White House press pool to punish or reward media based on what the White House considers “fair” coverage is either paranoia, petty behavior, or both, but it really doesn’t matter: It’s censorship, Mr. President. Plain and simple.