Barack Obama can get away with almost anything as far as the press is concerned. Four years without a budget. Trillion-dollar deficits. Stonewalling on Benghazi. Claiming to have reduced the deficit by $2.5 trillion when he hasn't reduced anything. This is all fine.
But deny the press something they want, namely access to him while he golfs with Tiger Woods, and look out:
Naturally, such a high profile two-ball was of huge interest to journalists the world over but the White House refused to sanction so much as a snap of the pair in action.
Obama's love for golf is well documented and the press have been able to capture some of his previous rounds with former President Bill Clinton and Republican House Speaker John Boehner.
But on this occasion reporters weren't allowed access to the well defended Floridian complex, which drew criticism from the White House Correspondents Association.
It's own president, Ed Henry, said: "I can say a broad cross section of our members from print, radio, online and TV have today expressed extreme frustration to me about having absolutely no access to the President of the United States this entire weekend.
"There is a very simple but important principle we will continue to fight for today and in the days ahead: transparency."
Are you kidding me? The news media in this country are so full of themselves, it almost makes me want to stick up for Obama, although . . . well, let's not go that far.
This is actually not a new complaint. The press have been miffed throughout Obama's presidency that he has routinely denied them access to him. They grumble about this but it did not stop them from enthusiastically cheerleading for his re-election.
Besides, I'm having a hard time taking their complaint seriously because of what little good they do with their access when they get it. Taking the above-mentioned examples just for starters, they have no interest whatsoever in explaining to the public the real problems with Obama's policies, or even in acknowledging that the problems exist. So for all their high-minded insistence that they be given access to him trolling the links with Tiger Woods, what good does it do the American public if they get it? I really don't care if Obama birdied or double-bogeyed the 13th hole. I care a lot if he moves the goalposts on ObamaCare from reducing costs to "slowing the rate of increase," but they're not going to point that out no matter how much golf they get to watch him play.
Besides, given what we know about Tiger Woods, wouldn't he have more fun playing golf with Bill Clinton?
