Archived Story  Media refuse to interrogate Obama  Published
11:00pm Friday, March 22, 2013  I found myself in a group
conversation that included one of the more instantly
recognizable media figures — someone who personifies the phrase
“mainstream media.” Since this isn’t something that happens
every day, why not make the best of it? Why not ask this VIMP
(Very Important Media Person) a question or two on the topics
that I frequently criticize the press for not covering?  The
problem was how to do so without unduly alarming the poor thing.
My favorite kinds of questions might be distressing to VIMPs who
never ask them, or even seem to think of them. I didn’t want to
scare off her (or him) without eliciting an answer. I had to
consider carefully while my VIMP remained at hand in a perpetual
state of high-definition recognition.    From the ongoing
chatter, it became clear such topics would have the allure of
stink bombs. So much conventional wisdom flowed about A-list
topics such as “Obama and Boehner” and “wh