PressEthic

As several of the Washington press corps reported to Howard Kurtz, McClellan hasn’t only piped up during recent press conferences, he’s gotten downright nasty.

At a press conference last Thursday, CBS correspondent John Roberts expected “a boilerplate answer” to a question about Harriet Miers, said Kurtz, but was instead scolded by McClellan: “Let's talk about the way you're approaching things,” he said. “I would encourage you—I know you don't necessarily want to do this—but to look at her qualifications and record.”

“Moments later,” reported Kurtz, “Roberts accused McClellan of ‘attacking me’."

Later, at the same briefing, he told Hearst columnist Helen Thomas that she was “probably opposed to the broader war on terrorism.” She had challenged the connection between 9/11 and the War in Iraq.

McClellan told Kurtz he likes to “mix it up and keep [reporters] on their toes.”

If McClellan wants to get bullish with reporters, more power to him. They’re big boys and girls. But there’s a definite line between getting feisty and getting personal; between deflecting a question with character assassination-style comebacks and pointing out the flaw in someone’s logic. It seems like McClellan just crossed that line.