In defending Bill Clinton's avoidance of formal press conferences thus far in his presidency, Jeff Greenfield claims it does not matter because the press has already determined that the president's proposals will not reduce the deficit as much as he claims, will hit the middle class harder than he claims, and does not attack "government as usual" as he claims.
This assumes that the public, 1) reads and listens to everything the media reports, and 2) that the public believes the media as much as it believes the President of the United States. For better or for worse this is simply not true. Many people do not read the paper, or go no further than Sports, Entertainment and headlines. For all the media would like to believe that they are the purveyors of truth, it matters little if their words go unnoticed.
Bill Clinton is wise to avoid formal press conferences because he does not want knowledgeable, pointed questions regarding the weaknesses and contradictions in his plan. He knows that nothing would damage his credibility more than sound bites showing him on the defensive about specific proposals. This tactic may be best for his plan's passage, but not necessarily best for democracy.
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