Jimmy Olson and Lois Lane

Why do certain people get press passes to the White House and others don’t? Do only certain “special” people get to exercise their freedom of the press rights? On Fox News, A.B. Stoddard said she thought it was wrong that a “major” news outlet (CNN’s Jim Acosta) should be denied access. But how can someone be denied access to an invitation? And by giving him or any of the others in the room special access, are the same rights being denied to all?  If one person has a right, do not all have the same right?

Presidential press conferences are not a requirement by law. They are an offering by the president as, for lack of a better word, a courtesy. The first was held in 1913 by Woodrow Wilson and the first that was taped was by President Eisenhower in 1955. The first live T.V. press conference was in 1961 by President Kennedy. In any event, these presidential get-togethers with the press came into existence eons after the Bill of Rights and the inclusive first amendment, freedom of speech.

9 Presidents Who Screw... Brion McClanahan Best Price: $3.84 Buy New $8.21 (as of 06:45 UTC - Details) ”I regard it as rather necessary to the carrying on of our Republican institution that the people should have a fairly accurate report of what the president is trying to do, and it is for that purpose, of course, that those(sic) intimate conferences are held.” Calvin Coolidge.

Note the word intimate, Mr. Acosta.

Over time the number of reporters grew, and with space limited the number of invitations was limited to a specified number. Of these, some were, more or less, permanent invitations, and became known as passes.  But none were ever deemed “rights.”

The people do like to hear, publicly from their officials, elected or not, and the press had worked reasonably well as a proxy for the voters.

After they became on the record conferences, as recent as Harry Truman the president could alter a heat of the moment intemperate remark before it was written as a direct quote.

Press conferences have taken place in various areas of the White House. However, the White House, at any given time is the home of the current president and not some reporter’s public park and playground. Firm direct questions are fine since the attendees have been invited, but rudeness as a guest in anyone’s home is, to many of us, still a shabby exercise.  And it matters not that any, or many, of the reporter or reporter-ett’s friends suborn boorish conduct.

In the relatively brief history of these conferences, there has been, on occasion, the lout who attempts to play the fictional Torchy Blane, the hard-hitting reporter who asks the “tough questions,” and gets the big story. And always in the name of some “right.” But if these hard-hitters have rights, why doesn’t everyone have these rights? Why can’t anyone who wishes, simply go prancing up to the White House and demand to question the president? Probably because they were not invited—my guess. They were NOT denied their rights. Secret Empires: How th... Peter Schweizer Best Price: $9.41 Buy New $14.90 (as of 10:05 UTC - Details)

The press conference has evolved much since the Nixon administration with presidents of both parties structuring it for the best public relations and political advantage. This was as true of Ronald Reagan as it was of Barack Obama. While not carrying the same intimacy as in the Coolidge days, the conferences are still invitations and in the home of someone besides the reporter. And above all, no one has a “right” to be there.

So when silly little men like Jim Acosta stand before another man as a guest in his home and act like Rasputin the mad monk, he has no one to blame but himself if he is asked to leave and/or not come back.  As for A.B Stoddard, I don’t know if she has ever been invited to the Presidential press conferences, but perhaps she could read up a bit from Emily Post’s advice on basic etiquette. If not she may be denied her “rights” as well.