Yes He Is, Wait No He Isn't

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post has a column today entitled "Obama's Pressers: No Comment -- and NoDoz" about President Elect Barack Obama's refusal to answer any questions yesterday about the Rod Blagojevich scandal after his press conference. From reading the article one can only conclude that Milbank is a recent graduate of the Politico School of Journalism. I just have to wonder if ANYBODY actually reads their own articles nowadays before they are presented for publishing. You have to work really really hard to do the kind of 180 degree turn Milbank did in his article about whether or not Obama is treating the media like President Bush has, without getting a bad case of whiplash. Check the contradiction.

First he gives us this gem of a paragraph implying that Barack Obama is a Bush clone when it comes to the media. (And don't forget the sexist and thoroughly innapropriate skirt comment)

There's no denying Obama's team has an impressive starting five: Duncan (6-foot-5), incoming national security adviser James Jones and body man Reggie Love (both 6-foot-4) all played college basketball, while Attorney General-designate Eric Holder and U.N. Ambassador-designate Susan Rice played high school ball. But Obama's response to Blagojevich questions has been decidedly junior varsity. Begging off because of an ongoing investigation? Hiding behind Patrick Fitzgerald's skirt? Warning a reporter not to "waste" a question and asking for an alternative question? All four techniques were popularized by Bush.

But then a mere eight sentences later we get this insight implying that Obama is NOTHING like Bush when it comes to the media.

The charge may be premature. Obama has proved himself to be far more willing to take questions than Bush, and if he makes good on his promise to release the full account of his aides' Blagojevich ties -- even on Christmas Eve -- it will be a major improvement in transparency over the current administration.

So which is it Mr. Milbank? Is Barack Obama a Bush clone or is he the anti-Bush? People have debated for the last few weeks why the Big 3 auto makers are in financial distress but writing like Milbank's in this article illustrates to me EXACTLY why many of the major newspaper companies find themselves in a similar situation. And at this point because of that poor level of journalism I have little to no empathy for hacks like him.