A very live-spirited discussion about the most recent White House press conference (which was scripted ahead of time_) by Max Taibbi can be found on this page

An excerpt:

The Bush press conference to me was like a mini-Alamo for American
journalism, a final announcement that the press no longer performs
anything akin to a real function. Particularly revolting was the spectacle
of the cream of the national press corps submitting politely to the
indignity of obviously pre-approved questions, with Bush not even
bothering to conceal that the affair was scripted.

Abandoning the time-honored pretense of spontaneity, Bush chose the order
of questioners not by scanning the room and picking out raised hands, but
by looking down and reading from a predetermined list. Reporters,
nonetheless, raised their hands in between questions-as though hoping to
suddenly catch the president's attention.

In other words, not only were reporters going out of their way to make
sure their softballs were pre-approved, but they even went so far as to
act on Bush's behalf, raising their hands and jockeying in their seats in
order to better give the appearance of a spontaneous news conference.

Even Bush couldn't ignore the absurdity of it all. ...


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