G-20: Obama Gives Press the Slip
By Elizabeth Williamson
Holed up with seven other global leaders in the woods of Muskoka, Canada, President Barack Obama gave the White House press corps the slip last night.
The president is attending the G-8 and G-20 summits with his global counterparts this weekend. The G-8 began yesterday in Muskoka in Huntsville, Ont., and ends today. The G-20 is in Toronto, about 150 miles away, and starts this afternoon.
Last night, the White House sent the press corps — which by agreement stays close to the president in order to report on any incident — back to Toronto, leaving the president 150 miles behind. In the wee hours of this morning, the crew of a dozen or so reporters and photographers in the press corps got back on a bus and returned to Muskoka for the day’s events.
It is highly unusual for the president to shun his permanent media detail that way, particularly at a high-profile event in a remote location. One White House aide speculated that it was due to scarce accommodations in Muskoka — which is a resort area. But Mr. Obama, who’s been quite vocal in his disdain for the press at times, has blown off his press corps in the past. The White House Correspondents’ Association complained to press secretary Robert Gibbs recently when the president left the White House on a Saturday, avoided the waiting press corps, and attended his daughter’s soccer game in Northwest D.C. This is a far more significant offense than that one, and is likely to draw another complaint. link
The SS reported , on the "soccer" occasion, that he had given them the silp once before this incident.
And now this "slip."
