Hey, remember that pre-Iraq war press conference Bush held? You know, the one that was completely scripted, the one where Bush already knew all the questions, and everyone knew who was getting called on and in what order? Remember how stilted and embarrassing it seemed when it was re-run, over and over again, on countless documentaries about the lies that led us to war? Remember how execrable everyone said that press conference was? How it was portrayed as the ultimate betrayal of the press, the people, the military, and even the very foundations of the United States itself?

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss:

As ferociously as we [the press corps] march like villagers with torches against Blagojevich, we have been, in the true spirit of the Bizarro universe, the polar opposite with the president-elect. Deferential, eager to please, prepared to keep a careful distance.
...
The press corps, most of us, don't even bother raising our hands any more to ask questions because Obama always has before him a list of correspondents who've been advised they will be called upon that day.

Hope and change, people... hope and change!