A little too cozy?

The White House Radio and Television Correspondents' dinner was held earlier this week, and you may have seen the video that included a rapping Karl Rove.

But the notion of such a dinner strikes me as odd. All the writers and reporters who cover the White House get together to joke with the president and vice president? Before going back to supposedly being a watchdog on the executive branch 24 hours later? Isn't there something incongruous about that?

Politics isn''t the only area where this takes place. At ESPN, the ESPY awards feature sports journalists hobnobbing with the athletes that they're supposed to cover critically (at least when necessary) -- although, as the previous post pointed out, ESPN has never really practiced great "journalism" in the first place.

I think this takes away reporters' credibility with the public, something of which the press already has precious little. I suppose it's nice to show that the president can get along with some of his critics and people can put an adversarial relationship aside for one night, but I think it's inappropriate to go to what is essentially a celebration when you're responsible for asking tough questions to the man hosting it.

The other thing noteworthy is that, of all presidents, Bush seems to have the most aversion to the press. He constantly evades reporters, avoids questions he doesn't like and spins the truth. He sends out Tony Snow and various other spokesmen and women to do the same. Given Bush's open disdain for the media, why would correspondents join him at such an event? It seems to give the impression that they're okay with everything that goes on, when they should be more upset about his administration's relationship with the media.