Maybe not a conspiracy....

....but disturbing nonetheless.

I just saw some news clips of the correspondents/white house dinner, and, first off, I'd like to say I really enjoyed watching the president crack jokes and make fun of himself and his administration. Agree or disagree with his politics and policies, i don't care, I just think it is nice to see more than one side of the man (and its refreshing this side isn't a complete idiot, poster child for nepotism and birth control)

What I found most disturbing was the complete and utter false air of the event. I mean, there you have the president, in a room full of people who are looking to get the next big scoop, who would sell dirt on their own mothers if the story was juicy enough to get them a Pulitzer, smiling and politely clapping, together, almost as if on cue. (I wonder if they had an applause sign that would light up at the appropriate time, or maybe the crowd is so used to performing for the camera its just comes naturally to them. Which makes me think about newscaster cameos in movies and TV, and how I am completely not surprised that they normally do good jobs with those roles, but i digress)

Literally, there were hundreds of people in that room, all dressed to the nines, making polite conversation with people they despise, acting as an on call laugh track for the president. It must be nice to have a six figure salary, a team of producers to make you look good, access to the most powerful people in government, and your name on the invite list to some sweet events. But they're worth it, right? I mean, of course people like Katie Couric deserve seven and eight figure salaries for reading off a teleprompter for an hour a day and doing the occasional one on one interview with pre-vetted questions and contractually agreed upon story lines. These kinds of things are important to the american people. How could we ever get by if we had to read our own news? If we had to form our own opinions about things? If we had to choose a preferred media outlet not by the looks of the newscaster but rather by the content and presentation of the written word? It pains me to think what would actually happen to this country if Americans didn't feel that their lives were so busy that they needed to get their news with the facts already interpreted and spun for them, served up by handsome men with stout voices (see Brian Williams and Anderson Cooper) or attractive women who keep us wondering about their naughty sides (i.e. Robin Meade or Erica Hill).

Lets not even begin to talk about the specialty news show hosts like Jim Kramer or Nancy Grace. They will never be included in discussions about the news media by me. They fall more into the category of "people who like to hear themselves talk and have callers call in to their shows with hokey compliments and softball questions". My stomach just burns thinking about their programs. And does anyone else think that Nancy Grace has styled her hair after Magneto's helmet from X-Men?????