At the same time, it’s worth asking what the press hopes to accomplish here. Carney’s refusal to give straight answers tends to obscure the fact that the questions are pretty pointless, too. A big decision such as whether to stop aid to a major partner in the Middle East will be made slowly and iteratively. Any shift in policy would begin as an official recommendation from the gorgon-headed collective of national security chieftains known as “the Interagency,” which would then need to be approved by something called “the Principals Committee,” and finally by the president himself. It is not going to be hashed out during a televised exchange between the press secretary and a reporter from Reuters. The reporter from Reuters knows this, of course, but he has to ask about the day’s big story anyway. As does the colleague next to him, and the colleague next to her, each getting in a swing.
Meanwhile, even as the briefing dawdles on to less weighty matters (“About the congressional picnic that has been postponed, what was behind that?”), the press secretary remains duty-bound not to say anything specific or interesting. If there were a Hippocratic Oath for the position, it might begin: “First, make no news.” The goal is to make it through without inciting an international crisis or stepping on the president’s cheery message of the day, and then to return to the office and get down to actual business, including figuring out which of the administration’s three favored outlets—The New York Times, AP, and Mike Allen’s “Playbook”—will get advance word of the Egypt decision when it finally gets made. Generally, this is a better way to do things: The article that results tends to be more thorough and nuanced, which is good for both the White House and the writer. And while it annoys less fortunate outlets, eventually everyone does get a turn.
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