Press

Josh Earnest, a White House deputy press secretary, answering a reporter's question aboard Air Force One on Friday, inadvertently painted with a broader brush than he intended.

President Obama has returned to Washington, from his solo vacation. He finally talked with the press on the ride back.

Via the pool report:

AF1 wheels down Andrews at 7:45pm. POTUS came back to have a 10-minute off the record talk with pool at the end of the flight. 

The president, down in Florida for vacation without his family, will spend the day golfing. The press, meanwhile, is on a "party bus," according to the pool report:

President Barack Obama had lunch today with members of the press. But we likely won't find out what was discussed: The entire luncheon was off the record.

On its website, the Iranian propaganda outlet Press TV has an article titled, "Journalism is dead and buried in West." The propaganda reads:

Over the past six weeks, we have had hundreds of new bloggers and “media pundits,” most anonymous, none with qualification, none with verifiable bios, almost all with childishly obvious agendas that carry clear signs of “handlers.” None, however, have attributable sources, real access to inside information.

In a letter to the White House, four members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence asked President Obama whether recent disclosures to the press of classified information on the Benghazi terrorist attacks were authorized by the Obama administration or illegal leaks subject to prosecution.

A Huffington Post writer caught political reporters talking on Politico's livestream, predicting that there's "a 40% chance that [Mitt Romney] says something stupid." Via Twitter:

Reporters overheard on politico live stream speculating before Romney event that there is "a 40% chance that he says something stupid."

There are two U.S. economies. Well, not really. But there is the economy reported in the New York Times as part of its pre-election coverage, and far different one reported in the authoritative financial press.

The Tampa Bay Times, the paper that puts out (and funds) the supposedly unbiased PolitiFact, has just enthusiastically endorsed President Obama for a second term.  The Times writes that “[w]ithout hesitation” it “recommends Barack Obama for re-election as president.” The paper cites Obama’s “steady leadership.” It’s no wonder the Times is backing Obama.

One can’t help being in awe of the New York Times. The ingenuity it displays in running down Mitt Romney, if applied to a more useful project, would be a national treasure.

In today's headlines:

White House records reveal that the moderator of last night's vice presidential debate, Martha Raddatz, visited Vice President Joe Biden at his official residence on March 26, 2012. Raddatz is an employee of ABC News.