Story Highlights
Brown: Obama shouldn't brush off reporters asking about Blagojevich
Reporter asks question about Senate seat and Illinois governor
Obama campaigned on directness and openness, Brown says
That means he doesn't get to dismiss any question he doesn't like, she says
'The media is annoying' 2:34
CNN's Campbell Brown believes it is the media's job to hold President-elect Obama accountable.
• Show Pages - Campbell Brown - CNN.com
• Show Pages - Campbell Brown - CNN.com
Source: CNN Added December 17, 2008
The story
It goes without saying, the media is annoying. It is the media's job to be annoying. Especially those members of the media assigned to cover the president. Or in this case the president-elect.
Their role is not to support President-elect Barack Obama, but to challenge him, to do their best to hold him accountable.
This week the media is no doubt annoying Obama with daily questions about Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich allegedly trying to sell Obama's Senate seat and the role of certain members of Obama's team. Here was the exchange he had Tuesday with a reporter from the Chicago Tribune:
John McCormick: You told us at your first press conference after the election that you were going to take a very hands-off approach to filling that spot. Over the weekend, The Tribune reported that Rahm Emanuel, your incoming chief of staff, had presented a list of potential names. Watch Campbell Brown's commentary
Obama: John, let me just cut you off, because I don't want you to waste your question. As I indicated yesterday, we've done a full review of this. The facts are going to be released next week. It would be inappropriate for me to comment, because the -- for example, the story that you just talked about in your own paper, I haven't confirmed that it was accurate, and I don't want to get into the details at this point. So do you have another question?
All About Rod Blagojevich
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