When President Bush visited Philadelphia, reporters who left the press area to talk to protestors were not allowed back. Why? America's SS (Secret Service) decided to punish those reporters for daring to get the opinions of people who disagreed with Bush.

The Washington Post reports:

Officially, the Secret Service does not concern itself with unarmed, peaceful demonstrators who pose no danger to the commander in chief. But that policy was inoperative here Thursday when seven AIDS activists who heckled President Bush during a campaign appearance were shoved and pulled from the room -- some by their hair, one by her bra straps -- and then arrested for disorderly conduct and detained for an hour.

One uniformed Secret Service agent complained to a colleague that "the press is having a field day" with the disruption -- and the agents quickly clamped down. Journalists were told that if they sought to approach the demonstrators, they would not be allowed to return to the event site -- even though their colleagues were free to come and go. An agent, who did not give his name, told one journalist who was blocked from returning to the speech that this was punishment for approaching the demonstrators and that there was a "different set of rules" for reporters who did not seek out the activists. ... A White House spokeswoman, Claire Buchan, said Bush's personal aide did keep a reporter away from the demonstrators but was not involved in the activists' detention.

If this sounds like the administration is completely out of line, you are right — but it's also completely keeping in character:

The Bush campaign has made unprecedented efforts to control access to its events. Sometimes, people are required to sign oaths of support before attending events with Bush or Vice President Cheney. At times, buses of demonstrators are diverted by police to idle in parking lots while supporters are waved in. And the Secret Service has played an unusual role; one agent cooperated with a plan by the Bush campaign last month to prevent former senator Max Cleland (Ga.), a Kerry ally, from handing a letter to the agent outside Bush's Texas ranch.

There's one set of rules for "journalists" who suck up to the administration and remain uncritical and another set of rules for genuine journalists who think for themselves and act in a critical manner. Unfortunately, the latter group has been relatively small during Bush's tenure and actions like the above seem designed to ensure that those numbers remain as small as possible. Reporters like to have easy stories and that means regurgitating whatever government officials tell them. If they report in a critical manner, their official sources could dry up. That would require either having to do real journalistic work for a change or finding another career.

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