OK, So We're No Longer Even Pretending This Is a Democracy Protected By A Constitution That Guarantees Free Speech?

This is all I can glean from this post and the next news article I will bring you.

Posted by John in DC at AmericaBlog:

So much for an impartial press. This is actually quite serious. If the White House Correspondents Association is so afraid of doing anything that criticizes the president, even in jest, then how does this affect their reporting? How can these people write fair, accurate and impartial stories about the increasing woes of this administration if they are so fearful of any speech that may upset this administration? From Attytood:

Little said organizers of the event made it clear they don't want a repeat of last year's controversial appearance by Stephen Colbert, whose searing satire of President Bush and the White House press corps fell flat and apparently touched too many nerves.

"They got a lot of letters," Little said Tuesday. "I won't even mention the word 'Iraq.'"

Little, who hasn't been to the White House since he was a favorite of the Reagan administration, said he'll stick with his usual schtick -- the impersonations of the past six presidents.

"They don't want anyone knocking the president. He's really over the coals right now, and he's worried about his legacy," added Little, a longtime Las Vegas resident.

Poor embattled president. Gosh, someone might tell a joke about him. I mean, sure, he tortures people for a living, throw out habeas corpus, illegally spies on our phone conversations and the US mail, and oh yeah, killed 35,000 civilians in Iraq this past year alone - but having a joke told about him... now that crosses the line.

The White House Correspondents Association is pitiful. You call yourself journalists. And you wonder why we criticize you? You people are pathetic. Journalism isn't about getting people to like you. It's about reporting the news, the facts, the truth, and hopefully making the world a better place while so doing.

Emphasis mine.

Complete disgust, however, should be shared by us all.