Political Bites: 'A spirited affair'

"A spirited affair" — that's what the Huffington Post's Nico Pitney is calling his Sunday talk-show smackdown with Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank. Nico called Dana "pathetic," Dana fired back that he's never worked in "collusion" with a White House administration. Ouch.

Long story short: Last week, during President Obama's press conference, the president called on Pitney, asking him if he had a question. Milbank wrote a column in the Washington Post on the unusual exchange:

"Nico, I know that you and all across the Internet, we've been seeing a lot of reports coming directly out of Iran," the president went on. "I know that there may actually be questions from people in Iran who are communicating through the Internet. Do you have a question?"

Milbank took Pitney to task on the Q&A set-up. Take a look:

(In a post today, Pitney claims that Milbank called him an un-nameable part of the male anatomy.)

Milbank slammed the exchange as "stagecraft," calling Pitney a "planted questioner." Pitney, who has been live blogging events in Iran, said he was contacted by the White House the night before the press conference. From Politico:

"I received a call from White House staff saying they had seen what I'd written and thought the President might be interested in receiving a question directly from an Iranian. The White House didn't guarantee that I would be able to ask a question. But I decided that if there was even a chance, I should try to reach out to as many Iranians as possible."

Deputy press secretary Bill Burton told the Washington Post that Pitney's wasn't a "pre-planned" question:

"He wasn't planted nor was the question pre-planned. He happened to ask the best question on the issue of Iran, and it isn't one that we knew in advance nor that we asked him to pose."

Some journalists grumbled about Pitney's coziness with the White House, while others said it was no big deal. Amanda Carpenter of the Washington Times told Pitney she thought the question set-up was "unfair":

"I'm not saying you did anything wrong, but I think the administration calling you beforehand, thinking that you are probably going to ask something sympathetic, escorting you to the front of the press room, to then ask a question in a place where everyone should get a fair crack at the president, is unfair."

Meanwhile, Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic said that there was no "untoward coordination":

"I've known other reporters who have gotten subtle hints that they might be called on at a presidential press conference. So what?"

Depending on who you ask, what transpired last week is either the end of journalism, or a glimpse of the future of press conferences hosted by an Internet-savvy White House. 

- Lili Ladaga

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