Barack Obama: The Audacity of Nope

The Chicago Tribune's John McCormick is a reporter who isn't be afraid to stick his neck out while covering a story. According to court documents, disgraced Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich singled out McCormick to be fired by the Trib.

McCormick trudged through the snow to attend a press conference Chicago's West Side, where the President-elect Barack Obama announced his education secretary, Arne Duncan.

What, no Bill Ayers?

The National Review's Byron York has more:

"Let Me Just Cut You Off, Because I Don't Want You To Waste Your Question"

That's what Barack Obama said today when John McCormick of the Chicago Tribune tried to ask about Rahm Emanuel's contacts with the Blagojevich team. Obama said, "It would be inappropriate for me to comment…and I don't want to get into the details at this point." So a short time later, McCormick came up with a more acceptable question: "Do you or [Secretary of Education-designate Arne Duncan] have a better jump shot?" The whole thing had a "Saturday Night Live" feel to it. From Michael Calderone at Politico:

The interaction with McCormick stood out from previous meetings with the press. And speaking about the exchange on MSNBC shortly after, NBC Washington bureau chief Mark Whitaker said that reporters have not been aggressive enough during Obama's post-election pressers.

"Our job is to hold him to account," Whitaker said, adding that he thinks "we're going to have to get tougher."

The Audacity of Nope.

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