MEDIA MEDIOCRITY - AT 7:48 A.M. ET:  A number of observers have commented on the anemic performance of the press at last night's presidential news conference.  The questions were almost as flabby as the answers.  The president was never seriously challenged, and the reporters didn't seem to know, or care about, the details of the health bill up in the House.  Other serious issues were completely ignored.  As Mike Allen reports in The Politico:

WORDS NOT USED DURING THE PRESSER: Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Korea, Guantanamo, war, troops, terror.

And the White House press corps is, presumably, the top of the profession.  No wonder Obama likes to hold news conferences. 

We learned very little last night.  I'd love to see the audience ratings.  I'll bet they slipped from the last presidential performance.

July 23, 2009