THE ACOSTA PROBLEM – AT 1:33 P.M. ET:  A federal judge has ordered the White House to return CNN showoff Jim Acosta's press pass, lifted after he engaged in some boorish behavior during a presidential news conference.  But that decision does nothing to settle the issue of proper behavior by reporters at such news conferences, which are not required to be held by the president, but which have become a tradition.  From Michael Goodwin in the New York Post: 

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. That age-old advice about the distinction between freedom and wisdom came to mind as I read the ruling that requires the White House to reissue media credentials to CNN blowhard Jim Acosta.

Federal Judge Timothy Kelly said Acosta must be allowed to return because there was no due process in the decision to suspend him. Kelly, appointed by President Trump, emphasized he wasn’t ruling on the merits of the suspension or Acosta’s behavior, only the process.

“I have not determined that the First Amendment was violated here,” he wrote, adding that the White House has no obligation to call on Acosta for questions.

While the outcome is a setback for Trump, it is also sensible and points the way forward. The president responded by saying his team will draw up rules requiring “decorum” and standards of behavior, and predicts ultimate victory.

Actually, he’s already won something bigger than the case at hand. He’s established the principle that a press pass is not a license to lecture and hector the president while refusing to yield the microphone, all of which Acosta did.

The principle is so obvious it shouldn’t need to be clarified, but written rules are necessary because Acosta abused his privilege. Now the details of the rules must be spelled out to cover any future cases.

But there won’t be any future cases — if the press corps get its act together. The White House Correspondents’ Association must find the courage to police the bad apples in its ranks instead of waiting for the government to act, then running to the courts for protection.

COMMENT:  Well said.  The president can decline to hold press conferences, or restrict them to periodic meetings with four or five reporters standing around the Oval Office desk.  My own sense is that mass news conferences have outlived their usefulness, and produce almost no news.  But if they're held, there must be formal rules, and discipline for "journalists" who break them.

November 18, 2018