Press Conference (Revised)

Today's "press gaggle" did not discuss any major issues facing the nation. Instead the focus was on the details of the President's schedule for the day. The following is a fairly representative quote:

Q Can you talk about the unscripted stop, the unscheduled stop last night
to the firehouse and the memorial site? When was it planned, and just tell us a
little about the specifics behind that?
MR. SNOW: Honestly, I don't know. I mean, I knew it had been in the works. This is a site that formally opened today and had just been previewed yesterday morning by some of the family members.
This had been organized in part by family members of September 11th.
Q Why was it not on the schedule? Why was it a surprise?
MR. SNOW: Because we wanted to add some spice and zest to your life.

By responding to this question with humor, Snow neutralized the issue, forcing an end of the discussion. Perhaps this was the right response to an overly zealous reporter, eager to find a story on an otherwise slow news day. But what if, on the other hand, this reporter was on to something. Maybe this was an example of Bush using 9/11 for his own political gain. By failing to take the question seriously, Snow silenced this reporter. Maybe Snow is withholding information from the public in order to protect the President. I guess we'll never know. But regardless, this shows how an effective press secretary can take control of the debate, and decide what subjects deserve to be discussed.