Take pity on me and tell me what I missed during the press conference!.

[senseandsensibility]

PLEASE. About twenty minutes ago or so, I turned on the TV for the first time this morning, and was greeted with the sound of insane soundtrack like laughter. I'd left the TV on CBS the night before and assumed that it was some game show or sitcom. But instead I saw Jake Tapper's very serious face and Obama smiling broadly. Obama then said something like was your reference to Spock a crack about my ears? The conversation then continued in a very serious vein about healthcare, and I enjoyed the exchange.

But what was all the laughter about? It sounded unhinged.

[babylonsister]

1. Tapper made some crack about Dr. Spock, and POTUS asked

him if he was making fun of his ears.

[senseandsensibility]

2. Was it really that funny?

All the media**###s were really rolling on the floor with laughter. They're so immature.

[JuniperLea]

4. Perhaps they are...

Surprised by jokes that actually make sense? And a POTUS who is quick witted and sure footed.

[senseandsensibility]

10. No the laughter I heard came before Obama made his crack

I want to know what was said right before that, especially since Tapper looked like he was sucking lemons. I know why what Obama said was funny.

[JuniperLea]

13. I missed the whole damn thing... awaiting the You Tubes! eom

[alsame]

3. Do yourself a favor and watch video of this presser when it's

available. The President kicked ass today - he smacked down all the stupid questions and the stupid reporters. It was a thing of beauty. :)

[Cha]

12. It was a thing of beauty! And, I plan to

watch it again and get what I missed. It was going fast and Obama made some excellent points and comebacks to the rw talking points via the "media".

[Clio the Leo]

14. I feel so left out....

.... this was the first "must watch" thing that I didn't get to see live.

I've got BOTH CNN and MSNBC recorded though .... cant wait.

[alsame]

15. You will

LOVE IT!!

[scheming daemons]

5. Remember what Bruce Lee used to do to the villains in his movies?

It was kind of like that... with Chuckie and Jake and Major playing the villains.

[lindisfarne]

6. You missed the Q&A. Obama had it all in control. It was nice to hear him put some of the idiotic

reporters with idiotic questions in their place.

[lindisfarne]

8. He also handled the question about "what if employer goes to public plan & dr. changes" quite well.

His answer: if we don't do anything, that's going to happen to a lot of people as employers change insurance policies or drop them. He clarified that the gov't plan won't choose your physician for you.

[rvablue]

7. The majority of the initial laughter was because

Jake "The Tool" Tapper started off by saying, "Before I ask my question, can you answer "so-and-so's" question (can't remember who he referred to) about health care.

And the President cracked up and said, "Oh, "before you ask your question, huh? What are you? The ombudsman of the White House press corps?"

Much laughter ensued, more than from the ear joke. I think it's probably because Tapper has a rep among his peers of being a whiner.

I remember there was something from not long ago where Tapper took it upon himself to kvetch and complain "on the behalf of everyone" (as he put it) about Gibbs being 5 minutes late to the daily presser.

[lindisfarne]

9. And then Obama pressed and said, Is that your question (because he had answered so & so's question),

and made it clear that Tapper only got 1 question. Tapper backed down and asked something else (I think - I got distracted at that point).

[senseandsensibility]

11. Thanks for the great answer

I get it now, and that explains why Tapper looked so peeved. I really appreciate you taking the time to give that concise summary. Your journalistic skills put those stenographers at the conference to shame. :P

[Clio the Leo]

16. I think the dynamics of this being held in the briefing room were very interesting...

.... I thought this earlier today (after having read everyone's reactions here while I was on my lunch break.) The press was a bit more emboldened because they were in the room they go to every day, in their seats, their own turf. HE was the visitor .... HE was the outsider. They probably dont feel that way in the East room (a more formal setting) and the Rose garden (a slightly less formal setting but historic none the less.)

And Tweety and Chuck were just saying the same thing. Funny.

[Hamlette]

17. TPM has a bunch of clips up...the best stuff (including the part with Tapper)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAnPYtEtstk&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fandrewsullivan%2Etheatlantic%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded

[Seldona]

18. Thanks for the link.

Missed that. He did a great job of handling the press.