President-elect Obama has now held 12 news conferences -- which as Politico's Michael Calderone points out, is more than any other incoming president in history. As Calderone said yesterday when the count was 11:
48 Questions
That's how many Barack Obama has taken at press conferences since Election Day. The Washington Times Christina Bellantoni is keeping a running count, and reports that Obama's easily shattered the transition record with 11 press conferences.
In other words, just because he is creating a path for direct communication with the public doesn't mean he's cutting out the press corps.
Moreover, I'm sure that however much he might be tempted to bypass the media, he understands that to do so would ultimately be not just irresponsible, but also political suicide.
Reporters and journalists have an important role to play in our political process; but so to does the public.
© Jed Lewison