Truest statement of the week II

A lot of people in the country say to me, "What's happened with the press? What's happened with political coverage in America?  We don't feel connected to it."  I was out on the road when the White House Correspondent Dinner popped up again. And I looked at the CSPAN coverage and read all of the accounts of it.   If there's ever an event that separates the press from the people that they're supposed to serve symbolically, it is that one.  It's time to rethink it.  Look, I think George Clooney is a great guy. I'd like to meet Charlize Theron.  But I don't think the big President in Washington should be that kind of  glittering event where the whole talk is all about Cristal champagne, taking over the Italian embassy and who had the best party and who got to meet the most people.  That's another separation between what we're supposed to be doing and what the people expect us to be doing. And I think the Washington press corps has to look at that.  By the way, I'm a charter member of the White House Correspondents Association.  I was there early on and often enjoyed it, but it's gone beyond what it needs to be.

-- Tom Brokaw, Meet The Press roundtable, May 6th.