White House correspondents — 79 percent of them interviewed to be exact — will be attending this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. This, despite all the whining about how awful it is.
An annual Politico survey out today has a smorgasbord of info on the likes and dislikes of White House correspondents. Which president is most press-friendly? Which press secretary do they like best? (At the moment, nauseatingly, that would be Josh Earnest. Why not use the survey to butter him up?) Which White House official dislikes the press the most? Who’s the most helpful to the Fourth Estate?
Among the most jarring stats — 63 percent of those surveyed have never asked President Obama a question at a press briefing. A large swath of respondents reported that both Obama and his wife, Michelle, dislike the press — 51 reporters said as much about Obama; 50 said it was true of Michelle.
By far they said the least press friendly president of them all is Obama — 65 percent picked him.
So who’s the most press friendly? 33 percent of respondents who have covered multiple administrations named former President Bill Clinton.
In terms of who is most helpful to reporters, Vice President Joe Biden rolled in at number 3. John Podesta, meanwhile, was number 1 on the list.
As for who will be the nation’s next President of the United States, the correspondents overwhelming — as in 63 percent — said Hillary Clinton. Only 21 percent named Jeb Bush compared with the current hot favorite — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who got only 4 percent.
Asked if they will attend this year’s WHCD dinner, which notoriously gets a bad rap, one respondent remarked — of course, anonymous — “Every year is an internal struggle. It’s become an indefensible orgy of self-revenrence and inexplicable fawning over Hollywood celebrities. But there are important there, both in terms of my beat and my career.”