"Let Me Just Cut You Off, Because I Don't Want You To Waste Your Question"
  • That's what Barack Obama said today when John McCormick of the Chicago Tribune tried to ask about Rahm Emanuel's contacts with the Blagojevich team.

    Obama said, "It would be inappropriate for me to comment…and I don't want to get into the details at this point." So a short time later, McCormick came up with a more acceptable question: "Do you or [Secretary of Education-designate Arne Duncan] have a better jump shot?" The whole thing had a "Saturday Night Live" feel to it.

    The interaction with McCormick stood out from previous meetings with the press. And speaking about the exchange on MSNBC shortly after, NBC Washington bureau chief Mark Whitaker said that reporters have not been aggressive enough during Obama's post-election pressers.

    "Our job is to hold him to account," Whitaker said, adding that he thinks "we're going to have to get tougher."