Michael Ledeen: Why the CNN reporter White House ban doesn't bother me.

Ledeen is writing for PJ Media.

"Tell us how you feel, Michael Ledeen."

Everyone thinks they should be in charge.

I know, right? Just this morning I noticed Steven Green write that Trump should declassify the FISA application at once because people will be shocked by what's in it. I thought of collecting bookmarks for all the pieces I read day to day from people presuming to tell Trump what he must do. But then I'd have a collection of bookmarks for articles that nobody reads. Including me.

It's worse than than mere suggestions. From Uber drivers to university professors and the massive number of attorneys at the capitol all think they should be in charge but none of them are worse than journalists.

Innocent journalists just doing their jobs asking the hard questions?

They work in government buildings and we pay for it. They walk around the building, whichever it happens to be, and chat up the officials.

They do? So?

I feel it shouldn't be that way. I feel they're not entitled to free office space and easy breezy access to government officials, taking their time like that, using the officials for themselves. They should rent their own space and access to officials should be formal. 

Why do you feel that way?

Because a long time ago when I worked for President Reagan I felt back then, and still do actually, that you should never speak off the record because if you don't want to talk about something then just shut up. Then this dude named William Safire asked me about a sensitive diplomatic matter in a way that suggested he was misinformed. I told him to get himself better background, and he was all, f that, just answer my question. And I was all, if I did answer your question then you'd be worse informed based on what you have wrong, and you'd go off and publish nonsense that's dangerously wrong so I told him to just piss right along and after that incident I refused to talk to him anymore. Ever. Because of his obnoxious attitude. Because I didn't care for journalists to be setting the agenda like that. And I felt like he didn't have the right to use my time like that. And now I feel the same way about the CNN reporter being banned from the White House for being obnoxious and rude, asking ridiculous unimportant side-questions with no relevance whatsoever at an important event with serious consequences.

I didn't know your answer would be this long. I have to go load the dishwasher.

I think government officials should decide to whom they choose to respond and under what circumstances. And they should be able to base this on things like past coverage or even security concerns.

But first I have to unload it from two weeks ago.

Yes! Including real espionage. Suppose the official had information that a journalist was an agent of a hostile foreign power. There's be good reason to keep that journalist out of government buildings. 

I shouldn't have let the housekeeper go. She caught me up once a week.

I'm constantly being told by people who know that there are a whole lot of people walking around the White House wearing wires, including reporters. Don't you think that should be stopped? 

Interesting. I didn't realize you have so many feelings. I gotta go.

Fine! I have more to say. About who should do all the choosing about who gets to interview government officials, especially the president, and where, and when. I'll write all that down and get these feeling out of me. 

Here. For when you get yourself cleaned up.

I wonder why he didn't say simply that he'd rather not have stupid little bitches barking irrelevant questions inappropriately as if their trivialities are the things that matter and not the monumental momentous events at hand. Then their reporting reflects their inane obsessions. As he spoke I recalled Bush II being harassed by big fat old ugly hag, a witch straight out of MaBeth, Helen Thomas, who held a front row seat and always asked the same stupid question about Iraq war each press conference. The same question over and over, never accepting the answer and ignoring the presentation at hand. They have their own agendas in conflict with the people they cover and don't deserve the honor of something so important as covering the president of the United States. They deserve, they earn, being treated as cockroaches.